say what??!

What is it about a broken heart that makes it hard listen to the very thing we need to hear?  After all the tears have been cried and the cryptic facebook posts have been uttered, are we even ready to listen then?  I suspect that sometimes it is just easier to stay angry than to forgive. We feed on that pain until it turns bitter and for some reason it gives us strength....or so we foolishly think.  I was speaking with a young woman at a retreat a few years back who shared her difficult story with me. My advice to her was that forgiveness was the only remedy for the heartache she was experiencing.  She wasn’t ready to hear it and was certainly unwilling to forgive. The pain was just too fresh.  ”You must not understand what happened and what this person has done to me!” she exclaimed 

Well maybe she was right. I, like anyone else, have had my own share of heartbreak but that doesn’t mean I could fully understand what she was going through.  One thing I did understand though was that she would never have peace without forgiveness. Often times, we think forgiveness means that we simply stop resenting the person we blame for our hurt.  Real forgiveness means we go a step further. We must grant the offender a total and free pardon and give up every claim that we deserve an apology. “Say what?!!”  Yes, you heard me correctly.  And furthermore, we cannot walk with God in true fellowship if we refuse to forgive others. Jesus has granted the repentant sinner total and free pardon from the offenses committed against Him giving up any claim on account of our debt for that pardon. 

 “.. bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” Colossians  3:13

Forgiveness...we don’t deserve it girl…and He gave it anyway. (Also see Hebrews 8:12 and Matthew 6:14) So now what should we say?

Oh Lord, that I might have the grace to forgive as you have forgiven me and live in freedom from the heartache of unforgiveness.