How Do We Forgive?

Last Sunday on our You Asked For It series we looked at the difficulty of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is essential.  When Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer, He picked forgiveness as the one part to comment on.  This is because it is one of the most important issues and one of the hardest.  When, as Christians, we do not forgive, we are making a value statement of what we think of God's forgiveness of our sins.  However, even if we agree that forgiveness is important, it is still difficult to do in real life.  Here are some ideas for putting forgiveness into practice, especially in the difficult situations.

1. Forgiveness is a decision.  Do not wait to feel like forgiving.  Do it because it is the right thing to do.

2. Pray for those who hurt us.  It is difficult to nurse a grudge when we are praying for God's blessings upon them.

3. Do not wait for the other person to repent before forgiving.  Some people will not repent and others can not (they may be dead).  We must free ourselves by giving unconditional forgiveness.

4. Forgiveness is not about staying in a dangerous situation.  We must forgive even those who abuse us, but that does not mean we must keep making ourselves vulnerable to their abuse.

5. Be sensitive to how another person responds.  John 21 tells us that sometimes repentance and forgiveness can come in some untraditional forms.  Be flexible.

For more on this important topic, you can find the full text of my message and the audio for the next couple of weeks at www.meafordbaptist.ca.