Forgiveness – BY: KB © 3.11.15

Psalm 103:10-14    He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 32:5      I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Mark 11:25     And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Ephesians 4:32      Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

One of the hardest things I ever had to do in this life is to learn to forgive. I embrace it now because I am learning about and loving the character of Christ; but early on Man! Oh Man! I hated the feeling of vulnerability. I felt like I was leaving myself open to be sucker punched…..and I was but in a good way (wait, is there such a thing as a good sucker punch?)  Oh, well I’ll explain….

Where I’m from forgiveness was just a word. I come from a place of justice and being hard. I come from a place where smacking someone around would put things in right standing. I come from a place where forgiveness means you’re soft and it gives people permission to mistreat you.

I still struggle with feeling vulnerable but not with forgiveness…..I release people from their transgressions because what I learned is that I was the one who was carrying the weight. Seriously, think about it, people get so comfortable doing what they do, that their lives just go on, business as usual. We are the ones mumbling grumbling singing that Michael Jackson “Do you remember the time?...”  Let it go! 

If something hurt you learn from the pain…I know it sound crazy…but think about it like your body. If your body signals you with a pain you’d most likely try figure out what’s wrong and then make the necessary adjustments, right? It’s the same with forgiveness…..what is the situation that caused the riff or hurt trying to teach you? What part did you play in it? Make the adjustments and move on…

Now, back to my “sucker punch” …forgiveness is a blessing plain and simple!

Please note you can be as “saved” as you want to be….but if you hold a grudge the Bible is clear God will not forgive you…so then how are you saved?  I hope y’all get the lesson! Your heart is truly releases when you learn to release….amen!!!