Forgiveness: Focus on the Family

Psalm 133:1-3
How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!
It's like costly anointing oil
flowing down head and beard,
Flowing down Aaron's beard,
flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.
It's like the dew on Mount Hermon
flowing down the slopes of Zion.
Yes, that's where God commands the blessing,
ordains eternal life.

Proverbs 17:9
Overlook an offense and bond a friendship;
fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

From the moment we decide to become a follower of Jesus Christ, we are born into a spiritual family. Even if your name isn’t in the database, and the member box next to it is not checked off, you are still a member of the church family. There are no only children in the family of God.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that we are always one big happy family. We don’t stop being sinners the moment we begin believing in Christ. Yet, as difficult and challenging as family can be, we have a mandate to work it out. When there are breakdowns in our relationships, walking in an attitude of forgiveness makes it possible for us to repair and re-build stronger than before. When we do this, we make a powerful statement to the world.

Issues that Affect Our Willingness to Forgive
1. We want someone first to take responsibility for the harm or hurt they caused.
2. Sometimes we want someone to understand the amount of pain caused.
3. Sometimes the people to forgive are “invisible” or unknown.
4. In early stages of healing, the pain is still to great to “release” the offender.
5. Sometimes we want the offender to suffer for a while- because we have.
6. We struggle with whether offering forgiveness takes the deed too lightly- or betrays a cause or person.

Biblical Forgiveness: Presuppositions
• Retaliation does not satisfy; it multiplies injury and alienation.
• Unresolved forgiveness injures and debilitates the offended.
• Forgiveness assumes taking anger, pain and sorrow seriously.
• Forgiveness is a process, not only an act of the will (first step).
• Forgiveness is an expression of strength (not weakness).
• Processing forgiveness creates an experience of freedom
• Forgiving need not depend on acknowledgement or accountability
• Initiative in the journey of forgiveness is critical to reconciliation.

Practical Steps to Forgiveness
• Recognize that we are sinners in need of forgiveness.
• Make the choice to forgive others.
• Believe and experience Christ’s loving forgiveness in your own life.
• Ask Christ to help you overcome negative thoughts that are blocking our ability to forgive.
• Trust the Holy Spirit to empower you with the right attitude to forgive those who have hurt you.
• Trust that God will judge all the wrongs in the world.
• When struggling with forgiving others, talk with someone you respect and trust to give