Does Forgiveness Matter?

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity”- Colossians 3:13-14

Did you ask for forgiveness last week, last month, last year?

Has someone asked you for forgiveness last week?

Anytime we speak of forgiveness we must consider the wide spectrum of offenses. The very word forgiveness brings memories, walls, and bitterness into our minds and our hearts. Even though the word may cause us to pause, reflect, clench our jaw, or simply shed a tear, it is a word that needs to be in our vocabulary and and in our actions often.

Forgiveness frees- unforgiveness binds. It binds us to the past. Chains you to it. It builds walls of resentment, brick by brick. Unforgiveness is the refusal to let go: the holding on, the justification of ill will and resent towards people. It carries the weight of the past.

Forgiveness is not saying what happened was ok.

Forgiveness is not saying you accept the person who wronged you. Instead, forgiveness is choosing to accept what happened, as it happened, rather than what could or should have happened.

“Chronic anger puts you into a fight-or-flight mode, which results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure and immune response. Those changes, then, increase the risk of depression, heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions. Forgiveness, however, calms stress levels, leading to improved health.” - John Hopkins Hospital

Often associated with weakness and/or acceptance, forgiveness is anything but that. It is trusting that you can let go of the offense, and move on to opening yourself up to forgiving, trusting, and loving. Forgiveness frees- unforgiveness binds.

Onward -

Pastor Jim