Forgiveness - Part 2
"...bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you," (Colossians 3:13-14 NASB).
"Love bears all things regardless of what comes, believes all things looking for the best in each one, hopes all things remaining steadfast during difficult times, endures all things without weakening," (1 Corinthians 13:7 Amplified).
This is the love that God has for us. He believes in all the good things that He's placed in us. He always plans our lives believing that we'll live to our fullest potential. However, we don't always live up to God's standard for us. We can probabl think of a time in the past twenty-four hours when we didn't act like the person God created us to be. It didn't make God love us any less and it didn't change the way He thinks about us.
Why?
Jesus died on a Cross and came back from the dead to purchase God's forgiveness for everyone, forever. "Because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself," (Hebrews 7:27 NASB).
Jesus didn't do this because we earned it and He owed us. It was impossible for us to earn God's forgiveness, so Jesus had to be our sacrifice.
He stepped in when we were at our worst and offered us grace. He did it believing that we would receive His grace and be forever changed.
This is the perfect example of real forgiveness. Forgiveness has always been an act of faith. It is a decision that we make even when circumstances don't agree with our decision. It requires us to look past our present hurt and see the person who hurt us as a child of God. Our Father loves them just as much as He loves us.
We forgive believing that the other person will receive our forgiveness and not make the same mistake again. Our forgiveness needs to be a mirror image of God's forgiveness. We freely received it, so we should freely give it away.
"So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you," (Colossians 3:13-14 NASB).