Precious Moments That Count For EternitySample

Giving and Receiving Forgiveness

A counselor wrote, ‘We have all been wounded.’ Who wounds us? Those whom we love and those who love us. When we feel most rejected, abandoned, abused, manipulated or violated, it is usually those close to us who are responsible; our parents, our friends, our spouses, our children, our teachers, our pastors. This is what makes forgiveness so difficult. It is our hearts that are wounded! We cry out, ‘You, who I expected to be there for me, have failed me. How can I ever forgive you for that?’
Though forgiveness may seem impossible, God who lives within us will give us the grace to go beyond our wounded selves and say, ‘In the name of Christ, I forgive you.’ But remember, there are two sides to forgiveness: giving and receiving.
Giving forgiveness seems harder. Often, we are not able to forgive because we haven’t fully received it ourselves. Only as people who have tasted the joy of forgiveness, can we find the inner motivation to give it.
Why is receiving forgiveness so difficult? Because, it’s hard to acknowledge, ‘Without your forgiveness I continue to be affected by what has happened between us. I need you to help set me free and make me whole again by forgiving me.’
That requires not only a confession that we’ve been hurt, but also the humility to admit our dependence on the very one who hurt us. Yet only when we’re able to receive forgiveness, can we truly extend it to others. That’s why the Bible says, in Ephesians 4:31,32 (NIV), Get rid of all bitterness… Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, I need Your courage and humility to receive and give forgiveness to help set me free and make me whole again. Amen.