We love building relationships. Subscribe to our blog to receive weekly encouragement in your email inbox.
Visit Our Store
Donate
You can also mail checks, made out to IRSM, to:
Iron Rose Sister Ministries
PO Box 1351
Searcy, AR 72145
IRSM is a 501(c)(3), so donations are tax-deductible.
Blog
More blog entries below
Written by Katie Forbess, President of Iron Rose Sister Ministries Board of Directors
Grace is defined as undeserved favor. “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV).
I wanted to tell you how saying and hearing, “I forgive you,” is an important part of the forgiveness process. But in the story I will tell, no one told us they were sorry, and we could not say, “I forgive you.” However, I can certainly tell you about the healing that can happen through forgiveness and the fulfillment of the ministry of reconciliation that Christ has called us to.
Grace is defined as undeserved favor, and it is very connected to forgiveness.
Last fall when someone did something unthinkable against my family, we sat at the dining room table and forgave them before we even knew who or what was going on. We knew the whole situation was based on a lie that God would have to bring to light. It was a serious “the truth will set you free” situation.
Why did we choose to forgive? We couldn’t have lived with the waiting and the stress and the unknown of what the following three weeks would bring if we hadn’t. We had been told every Sunday of our lives that Christ died for our sins and we are all sinners and no one is without sin and we must forgive others. Now we had to put it into practice, and we learned that like everything God does, He does it for the good of those who love Him.
The forgiveness we gave had nothing to do with who the offender was because we didn’t know who told the lie. We didn’t forgive because of how awesome we are, because we are not. The only way I can explain it is that the love we have for God and the desire we have to follow the example of Christ in our daily lives made forgiveness our first response. We felt the power of His forgiveness and knew that it was something that we were called to share.
Forgiveness doesn’t have anything to do with me or the other person. Forgiveness has everything to do with obedience and our true reconciliation with God.
Jesus is clear in the Lord’s Prayer regarding the connection between forgiving others and God forgiving us. We have to forgive others in order to be forgiven. I think this is because we can’t even start to fathom God’s forgiveness until we go through the process of forgiving others. The difference is that we are sinners just like the one we are forgiving, unlike God who is perfect and forgives us anyway, in the most complete way.
Can you remember the feeling of being forgiven of your sins when you came out of the waters of baptism? Can you remember the feeling of taking the Lord’s Supper for the first time as a member of the church?
Do you remember a time when you hurt someone and had to ask for forgiveness? Do you remember the worry of wondering whether they would forgive you or not? With God, we do not have to wonder. We are forgiven and we will be forgiven. What will we do with that within our other relationships?
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12).
Written by Deanna Brooks, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas
“I forgive you… and I love you!” What sweet words when sin has created a breach in a relationship!
Forgiveness comes from our Heavenly Father. Even before the world was created, He knew forgiveness and reconciliation would be part of the plan (Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9).
In Exodus 34:6-7 we read one of the earliest descriptions of our God, “… merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (ESV). God’s desire to forgive is part of who He is—it’s part of His character. It is why He sent Jesus to earth and why Jesus was willing to die for our sins.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, part of the prayer he taught them was, “… forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4). We ask God to forgive us—but that means we must also have a heart to forgive others.
In Colossians 3:13 Paul wrote, “… bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
When Jesus was teaching His disciples, Peter asked Him how often he should forgive someone, then suggested, “’Seven times?’ Jesus replied, ‘Seventy times seven’” (Matt. 18:21-22).
The Jews looked back to Amos 2:6 and concluded that they were only required to forgive three times. By asking Jesus if seven was enough, Peter had more than doubled the traditional limit, using a number that in those times symbolized completion or perfection rather than a literal limit to how many times we are to forgive.
Forgiveness from God is unlimited when a person is repentant.
Two things to remember:
When I forgive, the person may or may not accept it.
When I ask for forgiveness, the person may or may not give it.
Either way, I have done what God wants me to do.
When I forgive, it takes away my anger and resentment. It means I no longer focus on the sin or hurt, and I may choose to forgive, even if the person has not asked for forgiveness. We live in a world where there are unintentional slights and hurts, and sometimes the offender is totally unaware of how his actions are received.
When I am forgiven, it means the person no longer holds me accountable for those actions.
However, forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation. There may be consequences that can’t be repaired. Some things can never be fixed. The relationship may never go back to what it has been.
That is where our God is different. When He forgives, our sin is forgotten, and the relationship with us as His child, which He intended from the beginning, is restored.
Having a forgiving heart does not mean overlooking sin and brushing it aside. It may mean we confront the person, in love. Galatians 6:1 reads, “If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
We have a responsibility to watch out for others and confront them as Nathan did David (2 Sam 12). We all need a friend who will come to us if they see us doing something that will separate us from God.
The ultimate goal of forgiveness is to be able to return to a holy relationship with our Heavenly Father.
When we pray for forgiveness from our Father, let’s never forget that this forgiveness cost Jesus pain, suffering, and death. That’s how much we are loved!
