Hello ,
There's quite a bit of talk about forgiveness these days, and I'm all for that. In fact we're told through God's word that forgiveness is necessary for our spiritual walks. I want to share a passage from a book called "The Art of Forgiveness," by Lewis Smedes that really hit home when I first read it:
"Let me make sure that we clear up a few misunderstandings about forgiveness. Before we can build, we have to blast. We have to blast away the erroneous thoughts on what forgiveness is not:
· When we forgive a person, this does not mean we are immediately healed.
· When we forgive a person, this does not mean we are going to be buddy/buddy.
· When we forgive a person, this does not mean we surrender the right to restitution or justice when appropriate.
· When we forgive a person, this does not mean that we trust them, yet.
· When we forgive a person, we are not avoiding pain, we are opening the door to healing.
· When we forgive, we take the journey at the pace we are able to handle...the deeper the hurt, the longer the journey "
Please let me challenge you today, to go back to the book of Matthew, chapter 6, and read what Jesus had to say about forgiveness. It's eye-opening stuff, and it may even make us a bit uncomfortable from time to time. God is able to help us forgive those who have hurt us.
Have a great day and God bless!
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