How to Have a Forgiving Heart?

(photo: https://pixabay.com/en/forgiveness-sand-summer-send-beach-1767432/)
By Faith MagbanuaNovember 9th, 2017

When you look into the Bible's outtake on forgiveness, it says that you do it because you are not doing it for them, you are doing what is right.

The word 'forgiveness' often comes into play when someone has wronged you or when you did something bad to another person.

However, what we do not know is that to forgive means that we have to let go of all the negative feelings that we are holding.

The Bible says, in Ephesians 4:2 (KJV)

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

If you ask me, forgiving more difficult that loving someone.  To love someone means to accept and not be selfish, but what happens when forgiveness comes into play?

Everything becomes blurry and hazy because forgiving is not in our nature.  As the Bible says, we are born sinners, and sinning is our nature.

We are the ones who are "forgiven" but we are not the ones to "forgive", however, God wants us to have a forgiving spirit, just like how He forgave us from our sins.

"God wasn't fair with us as sinners... He was merciful." (Romans 5:8)

If we are looking for fairness in this world, we might not see it that easily, because for one, this world is cruel and fairness doesn't appear everywhere, but we must always remember that as a child of God, as Christians, we must follow God's example. 

Let us be merciful, because for starters, we do not deserve any mercy but someone handed it to us.

3 REASONS WHY WE STRUGGLE TO FORGIVE

1.        Fairness

We tend to be selfish when it comes to knowing what and what is not fair.  Fairness should always be exercised and should be given freely. 

2.        Pride

Most of us are proud, we do not want to bend the knee, to break our oath and even to look pathetic by forgiving someone who have done something bad to us.  But let us always remember the Lord lifted up the humble.  He will never forget how you walked His ways even though it is hard for you to forgive someone.

3.       Deep hurts

At some point in our lives, we will be heart broken, beaten emotionally, we will not be judged fairly and we will look bad even though what we are trying to do is right.  However, after those painful events that may happen or that have happened in our lives, it only serves as a tool to hone us for what we are today.  It may be negative for we might hold grudges but, what we are today is what we chose to be.  If we let those deep wounds haunt us, we will never fully experience the joy of God's grace.

Forgetting is a different matter, but forgiveness is something that will make us change for the better.  Even if a person doesn't ask for forgiveness, still-you have to forgive. Forgiveness doesn't change that person, but it does change you.

 

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