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“Forgiveness is a gift we decide to give in spite of how we feel.”

A thought by Andy Stanley (2009-08-22) from his book, It Came from Within!: The Shocking Truth of What Lurks in the Heart (p. 145). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition.

That is so true. 

I had a situation that happened in my life that in no way did I want to forgive. I wanted to play the martyr and get all I could out of it.  I mean they stabbed me in the back and then there were others who followed them closely behind and again that really hurt.

But today I am at peace.  There is no pain at all when I think of that situation.  I am free because of forgiveness.  

Now I have no relationship with this person today because of some evil that they did to someone close to me but I am free.  Have I forgiven them for what they did to the other person?  No, I haven’t.  The evil that they did was not toward me so what they did was not up to me to forgive them.  I am not the one to forgive them.  There are some acts that the justice of God takes over.

But I am free from the injustice of that person toward me because of God’s forgiveness of the injustice that my sins brought upon Him.  I asked Him to forgive me so I now can forgive them.  He gave me the gift of forgiveness so I can now give that gift to others.  I don’t deserve it but He gave it to me anyway.

What about you?
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Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 31, 2013 at 8:40 AM

    very true Bill. Even I had people in my life whom I never wanted to forgive. But then I decided not to hold any grudges. And then I saw that I was thankful to them, because they were not good to me and it made me realise the importance of the better people around me.
    Moreover, no person is competely good or bad. S, we as a human being should learn to forgive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bill WilliamsJanuary 31, 2013 at 11:45 AM

    relationships are so very important. we really do need each other. you are right, esabella. those difficult people help us appreciate the good ones.

    ReplyDelete

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