Seventy Times Seven


Many pastors and religious leaders may teach that we forgive something once and then the matter is handed over to God. I believe that the matter is more complex than that.

There are massive amounts of information on the web about the importance of forgiveness and how it is of vital importance to our spiritual well being. Few verses have gained more exposure than Matthew 6v14-15. It reminds us that we need to forgive in order to be able to receive forgiveness. The act of forgiveness is so important to God that He makes it clear that He will not tolerate unforgiveness.

I have also written on the topic of forgiveness in my book. Interestingly the topic of forgiveness is one that matures as I study it. Forgiveness is a key part of a chain of healing that restores righteousness and peace to our hearts both internally and with the Father. In the ideal world we want to live in peace. In fact Jesus promotes such a life when He says: “This is how everyone know that you my disciples, if you have love for one another John13v35

The commandment to Love is supported by many Biblical ideals like:

  • Righteousness(to be in right standing with one another)
  • Repentance (turning away from our wicked ways)
  • Forgiveness (letting go of our claim for vindication) of sin (offense against us) forms the center of our efforts to live lives of love righteous lives.

Forgiveness is something that the Kingdom of God revolves around because it promotes righteousness and Love. How often have we heard that forgiving some one is much easier said than done. I believe that this has a lot to do with the fact that humans are driven by emotion. There are of course real differences between men and women but there is no denying it that emotion is a key driving force in human behaviour.

This brings us to Peters encounter with Jesus where he asks how many times we should forgive our neighbour. Matt 18v21-22

I would like to explore the relationship between our emotions and true forgiveness. I believe that forgiveness is only complete when the thought of the offense no longer hurt us. If someone does something against me that hurts me my forgiveness of that offense is only complete when I have peace in my heart on the matter. In a sense, I am suggesting that forgiveness, just like repentance is a process that requires personal and life-changing investment from us.

If we experience a sin against us we usually feel offended or hurt or that we were treated unjustly. Our heart will only find peace once the drive behind that emotion subsides to a point where it no longer pops up in our life.

All of our emotions are experienced in our hearts and the way we know that something is a big deal to us is when we speak of it all the time. Matt 12v34 The way we are able to see the impact of a sin against us is to discuss it. When we have a desire to elaborate on it and harp on the fact that we were hurt by other people we can be sure that we still feel strongly about the issue.

Many pastors and religious leaders may teach that we forgive something once and then the matter is handed over to God. I believe that the matter is more complex than that. The process of forgiveness does start with a conscious effort to release the hurt of the offense. I also believe that forgiveness hands the matter over to Jesus for righteous adjudication. Even so, I still believe that forgiveness is a process that takes time.

Just like a physical wound will take time to heal I believe that emotional wounds will require a time of healing. If a physical injury requires ongoing maintenance and is part of the human design then I would argue that emotional healing could be similar. Lets then take a look at Matt 18v35.

So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The word “heart” that Jesus used in Matt 18v35 when He commands us to forgive from the heart is the same word that He used in Matt 12v34 where He says that the mouth speaks of the things that the heart if full of.

To my heart, this means that I have reached a place of completed forgiveness when my heart has peace on the offense I was exposed to. The way I can measure the peace in my heart is to pay attention to what my mouth has to say about the matter. When we learn to read our emotions by listening to what we say it helps us to understand where we are on an issue of forgiveness.

I would imagine that the process of healing and recovery from a sin against me may benefit from repeating a process of forgiveness. If I become upset when I think about an injustice against me, it could mean that I need to release forgiveness again and again until my heart finds its peace.

REMEMBER THAT YOUR FORGIVENESS OF OTHER PEOPLE BRINGS YOU PEACE WHILE UNFORGIVENESS COSTS YOU ENERGY EVERY DAY.

#GrowMySpirit

#OneCommandment

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