HOW TO FORGIVE

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”–Ephesians 4:32   The command to forgive others is clear, but let’s not kid ourselves it is tough! Living the Christian is more than difficult, it is down right impossible without help from God. We can love and forgive others only by first loving God and surrendering ourselves to His control. If you are having difficulty forgiving someone, consider these words from the pen of Selwyn Hughes:   —- The first thing we must do is demonstrate a willingness to forgive those who hurt us. “That’s hard,” you might say. My reply is: “Yes, in the case of those who have been badly let down, it is hard – but not impossible.” Here’s how you do it. Focus first on how much you have been forgiven. The key to forgiving others is to enter into a realized awareness of how much God has forgiven you. When people say to me during a counselling session, “My problem is that I can’t forgive,” I usually respond by saying, “No, that’s not your problem. Your problem is that you dont know how much you have been forgiven.” It may be difficult for some to see this, especially those who have gone through deep hurt, but nothing others have done to you is as awful as what you have done to God. If you have difficulty with the last statement, it is because you do not understand the nature of sin. Sin is taking the Creator of the universe and relegating Him to irrelevance; it is saying to the One who made us – “I can run my life on my own terms.” Sin is insanity – and you and I have been guilty of that. Yet in Christ God has forgiven us, pardoned us, and bestowed upon us His royal favor. Having been given such forgiveness, can we, dare we, withhold it from anyone who has betrayed our trust, no matter how horrifying that hurt has been?