The Gift of Forgiveness
Are you wishing to give a gift that is a little more profound and enduring this holiday season? Try giving one of the best gifts ever—the gift of forgiveness! There is no better time than now to drop the heavy load of resentment and anger you have been carrying and finally extend the precious gift of forgiveness. Resolve to make this special time of the year a season for reconciliation and resolution. Extinguish the hurt and bitterness in your heart and choose to make room for love and pardon. You cannot move forward if you never choose to forgive, and you will never be able to rebuild and heal without closure. It is not weak or effete to forgive; instead, forgiveness is an attribute of the strong and resilient. “To err is human”, as the old saying goes, but “to forgive, divine.” God offers this special gift to all, and He is tenderly pleading for us to receive this proof of His divine love and share it with others.
Forgiveness is a gift God wants to give us! Hallelujah—because we need it! Our lives are littered with moments that have broken the heart of God. We have all missed the mark, failed to meet our Heavenly Father’s expectations, and sinned against Him. Though we have failed and of-fended our God, we have never been able to commit a single sin to separate ourselves from His infinite love. Since God loved us, “he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus came to be the Savior we needed even though He is not the Savior we deserved. Through Jesus, God offers the gift of complete and total forgiveness! As Paul said, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
Forgiveness is a gift I need to give myself! Many Christians wrestle with doubts concerning their salvation due to guilt over past sins. However, we can learn to move past our guilt when we accept and trust God’s saving grace. God forgives and forgets when he pardons! As He promised the nation of Israel, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more” (Hebrews 10:17; cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34). Your past sins have been blotted out just as if they were never committed, and they will never be held against you again. Indescribable freedom is found in knowing that “as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:11-12).
Forgiveness is a gift I should give others! Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). It only makes sense to extend pardon to others since God was willing to offer forgiveness to us. In fact, the Savior reminds us that “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:15). An unforgiving heart is an unforgiven heart! Likewise, an unforgiving heart is one that is full of bitter-ness, and a heart full of bitterness can never truly love. You hold the key to help release another from the mistakes of their past. Don’t confine them as a prisoner forever; learn to forgive them! In turn, you’ll be set free too!
Do the most loving thing you can do this holiday season—give the gift of forgiveness! Accept God’s saving grace, find the forgiveness you need, and share that liberating grace with someone else. Learn to forgive and be forgiven. The road to forgiveness and reconciliation might not be an easy journey to take, but the destination will surely be worth it in the end!
Brandon Baggett is a former Pulpit Minister for Eastern Meadows Church of Christ.
