Originally published April 20, 2016

As long as we live in this world with other humans, we are going to need to learn forgiveness. It is some thing that I have been taking a long time meditation on lately.

There are ways that I have been hurt or offended and have in turn, hurt and offended others..intentionally or not.It is so easy to say that we forgive some one, but then have a wall around ourselves so that we do not get hurt again.When we build that wall, we really have to ask ourselves if we have truly forgiven the other person.

It gets tricky, because we need to have healthy boundaries in relationships and we need people to be responsible for their own garbage. But I whole heartedly agree that freedom comes into our life when we walk in forgiveness.

As in The Lord’s Prayer;

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

and Jesus also says “forgive your brother and sister from your heart.”

He also says that if we do not forgive one another, our heavenly father will not forgive us.

That sounds harsh at first, but then if we realize that God sent His son to earth to take all of the sin and offenses of the world so that we could ultimately have forgiveness of our sins to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ..it is the ultimate gift. And God isn’t expecting us to do any thing that He wasn’t willing to do first. Forgiveness is extremely important to Him, and He wants it to be a priority to us.

There are many studies that show if we carry un- forgiveness it can cause physical problems in our body. Many people who are unforgiving have faces that show a continual disappointment and resentment. I never want to be that way inside and I never want it to manifest itself by reflection on my face!!

The cross of Jesus Christ was all about forgiveness.  He was perfect and took all of the tragedy, pain, and every kind of suffering of the world on Himself. He took it out of the way between us, tearing down the wall, making a way to fellowship with Him. We can do much less than that with each other and walk in forgiveness and love.

I wrote my term paper on Spikenard, which has so many properties that are used in healing and forgiveness. It is the oil that a woman poured out on Jesus Christ to show her admiration for him and he said she was preparing him for his burial. It is an amazing oil that can heal deep wounds, physically as well as used emotionally.

“I forgive you” can be the most powerful words you can ever say or do…especially if the other person really doesn’t deserve it. It is empowering! Let’s practice it together!

What are your thoughts on forgiveness? We want to hear from you today!!