What Is Forgiveness?
Forgiveness is a commitment to a personalized process of change. To move from suffering to forgiveness, you might: Recognize the value of forgiveness and how it can improve your life; Identify what needs healing and who needs to be forgiven and for what; Consider joining a support group or seeing a counselor. Forgiveness is often defined as a deliberate decision to let go of feelings of anger, resentment, and retribution toward someone who you believe has wronged you. However, while you may be quite generous in your ability to forgive others, you may be much harder on yourself.
Forgiveness is the act of releasing ourselves from the bondage of an ongoing negative connection. Forgiveness resurrects our peace of mind from the perils of victimhood and releases our negative judgments.
Why Do We Forgive?
We forgive to reclaim our equilibrium. It is a joy to forgive. It’s also worthy of note that the “Lord’s Prayer” says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Jesus implored us to forgive anyone we are angry with. We will be released from bondage. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves.
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How Do We Forgive?
We make up our minds and our hearts to let go, knowing that carrying around anger and judgment toward others or ourselves is a burden we no longer wish to bear.
Beginning to Learn to Forgive
Forgiveness Matthew West
By Rev. Bill Englehart Jump desktop 8 2 17 32.
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Jesus was once asked how often one should forgive. Seven times? His response was, “Not seven times, but, I tell you seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).
Seventy-seven is not a magic number. Earlier translations say seventy times seven, or 490. It was simply Jesus’ way of saying forgiveness can be infinite.
To understand forgiveness, we need to understand what it is not. It is not about condoning bad behavior or saying we must trust those who have mistreated us. It does not mean that there will be no justice for bad acts.
Forgiveness Quotes
Consider this from H. Emilie Cady’s Lessons in Truth, written more than 100 years ago:
“To forgive does not simply mean to arrive at a place of indifference to those who do personal injury to us; it means far more than this. To forgive is to give for—to give some kind of actual definite good in return for evil given.” Picframe 1 1 – combine multiple photos into frames.
This may seem like a tall order but when done, we can see the results straightaway. I have known parents who forgave the person who killed their child. When I asked why, they said that if they had not, they would be consumed with anger and bitterness. Forgiveness was the answer.
Forgiveness Affirmation
I forgive myself for my mistakes, and I forgive others for their mistakes, knowing none of us is perfect.