Forgiveness

Hello All,

Is there someone you are struggling to forgive?

What stage of forgiveness are you at? Are you unwilling to forgive? Are you willing but unable to forgive?

What is holding you back from offering forgiveness?

Forgiveness

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (13 December 2016)

Forgiveness is not a feeling

It’s not a feeling but a choice

It’s a gift I am withholding

It’s a choice that has lost its voice

The emotional hurt I bear

Cuts deep into my bleeding heart

Is there forgiveness anywhere?

I’m hurting from a deadly dart

Lord Jesus, help me to forgive

To pardon those who have wronged me

Let me, Your strength and grace, receive

That I may show others mercy

Points for Reflection:

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

(Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

·       It is true that forgiveness for an offence so great requires time. Many of us are waiting for the ‘feeling’ of forgiveness to emerge in our hearts.

·       However, forgiveness is not a feeling but a choice. Our hearts may be bursting with anger and bleeding from the raw wound inflicted by the offender. Thoughts of revenge may even cross our minds.

·       While we may still be struggling with vacillating feelings of anger and sorrow, we can choose the path of forgiveness. After having made that choice, we need to rely on God’s grace and strength to counter the angry thoughts that threaten to invade our minds.

·       The Gospel of grace is all about forgiveness. We can show mercy because God has shown us mercy. We can forgive others, even if we feel they do not deserve it, because God has forgiven us when we least deserve it.

·       Are you willing to surrender your rights against the offender to God? Have you decided to forgive the offender just as God in Christ has forgiven you?