Forgiveness
I am sure that to almost everyone, the line - "forgive and forget" has a familiar ring to it. I have written about "Letting Go" but I never mentioned that it goes hand in hand with forgiveness.
In the "Letting Go" post I wrote about how we form memories, some good and some bad and because of the memories, it is harder to let go. I also wrote about letting go of the "bad things from the past".... which sounds a lot like letting go of grudges and bitterness towards either someone or something.
Everyone has a past. Everyone has a story. A story of how they got to the point where they are today. The story is your time line for everything that you have done and everything that has happened to you that helped shape the person you are today.
Jesus has His own story that He shares with us in His word and a part of His story includes the following line:
Luke 23:34
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”[a] And they cast lots to divide his garments.
Jesus asked God to forgive "them" even though He was hurt... at first this never made sense to me because I do no always feel like forgiving someone when they hurt me... but I have leaned that forgiveness is not just about you.
Forgiving someone means that you are setting that person free from a spiritual burden. You are also helping yourself to forget about what has happened in the past and moving forward. Forgiveness is healing. Facing what happened and forgiving the person who was responsible for whatever happened helps you to heal - to restore and rebuild that which has broken and sometimes it also means forgiving yourself. Forgiveness helps you to move on with your life.
As I am writing this, my heart is pounding because I keep on thinking about the "bad things" in my past. I keep thinking about a specific part of my story and I have decided to try and share my story in order to restore myself and move forward. I have decided to share it because I know I am not alone.
My story...that specific part of my story that gets my heart racing... happened a very long time ago. I was still a little girl - 8 maybe 9 years old. My cousins would always come to visit and we would play the whole day... but on this particular day... one of my cousins decided to take the 'playing' too far... the "touching game"...
Aaaand that is as far as I go because the rest does not need to be put down in words. I have told the people closest to me when I was 17 and 18 years
old. On 18 I told my cousin I forgive him.... but I never forgot and I never really forgave him... I said it because I thought it would make it all better, but I never meant it.
Now... as I am walking in faith and taking this journey with Christ, forgiveness seems a little easier. For a long time I thought that I had to carry this burden on my own but that was never necessary. Jesus was always there. Maybe I turned my back on Him but He never turned His back on me. I was never alone. This idea makes the hurt, hurt less.
It helps me to see everything clearer. It helps me to realise that I am setting not only my cousin, but also myself - free.
Forgiveness is a journey of healing and it sets you free. When God forgives our sins, He sets us free from the chains of darkness. He is the light, He is freedom.
Forgive - set yourself free
T.
In the "Letting Go" post I wrote about how we form memories, some good and some bad and because of the memories, it is harder to let go. I also wrote about letting go of the "bad things from the past".... which sounds a lot like letting go of grudges and bitterness towards either someone or something.
 |
| Click here to see the source of this Image |
Jesus has His own story that He shares with us in His word and a part of His story includes the following line:
Luke 23:34
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”[a] And they cast lots to divide his garments.
Jesus asked God to forgive "them" even though He was hurt... at first this never made sense to me because I do no always feel like forgiving someone when they hurt me... but I have leaned that forgiveness is not just about you.
 |
| Image source: Click |
As I am writing this, my heart is pounding because I keep on thinking about the "bad things" in my past. I keep thinking about a specific part of my story and I have decided to try and share my story in order to restore myself and move forward. I have decided to share it because I know I am not alone.
My story...that specific part of my story that gets my heart racing... happened a very long time ago. I was still a little girl - 8 maybe 9 years old. My cousins would always come to visit and we would play the whole day... but on this particular day... one of my cousins decided to take the 'playing' too far... the "touching game"...
Aaaand that is as far as I go because the rest does not need to be put down in words. I have told the people closest to me when I was 17 and 18 years
old. On 18 I told my cousin I forgive him.... but I never forgot and I never really forgave him... I said it because I thought it would make it all better, but I never meant it.
It helps me to see everything clearer. It helps me to realise that I am setting not only my cousin, but also myself - free.
Forgiveness is a journey of healing and it sets you free. When God forgives our sins, He sets us free from the chains of darkness. He is the light, He is freedom.
Forgive - set yourself free
T.
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