Burn|Malaysia

THE CHOICE OF FORGIVENESS

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other,
just as God in Christ has also forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32).

Most of the ground that Satan gains in the lives of Christians is
due to unforgiveness. We are warned to forgive others so that
Satan cannot take advantage of us (2 Corinthians 2:10, 11). God
requires us to forgive others from our hearts or He will turn us
over to the tormentors (Matthew 18:34, 35). Why is forgiveness so
critical to our freedom? Because of the cross. God didn't give us
what we deserve; He gave us what we needed according to His
mercy. We are to be merciful just as our heavenly Father is
merciful (Luke 6:36). We are to forgive as we have been forgiven
(Ephesians 4:31, 32).

Forgiveness is not forgetting. People who try to forget find that
they cannot. God says He will "remember no more" our sins
(Hebrews 10:17), but God, being omniscient, cannot forget.
"Remember no more" means that God will never use the past against
us (Psalm 103:12). Forgetting may be a result of forgiveness, but
it is never the means of forgiveness. When we bring up the past
and use it against others, we haven't forgiven them.

Forgiveness is a choice, a crisis of the will. We choose to face
and acknowledge the hurt and the hate in order to forgive from
the heart. Since God requires us to forgive, it is something we
can do. (He would never require us to do something we cannot do.)
But forgiveness is difficult for us because it pulls against our
concept of justice. We want revenge for offenses suffered. But we
are told never to take our own revenge (Romans 12:19). "Why
should I let them off the hook?" we protest. You let them off
your hook, but they are never off God's hook. He will deal with
them fairly--something we cannot do.

If you don't let offenders off your hook, you are hooked to them
and the past, and that just means continued pain for you. Stop
the pain; let it go. You don't forgive someone merely for their
sake; you do it for your sake so you can be free. Your need to
forgive isn't an issue between you and the offender; it's between
you and God.

Lord, I stand amazed at the example of Your forgiveness. I desire
to grow in my willingness to forgive those who have hurt me.