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The other side of saying "I'm sorry" is saying "I forgive you." Can you allow God’s forgiveness to flow through you?

Rule #9 Forgive Freely

Sometimes we have no desire to forgive someone. We are not interested in forgiveness, we want to brood in our anger a littel while longer to be sure they know how much they've hurt us.

But when we withhold forgiveness, the person we hurt most is ourselves. We hold ourselves hostage to our own anger. We define ourselves as a victim in need of vindication. We build up walls of righteouss resentment. We carrying bitterness, which eventually burns our hearts and our view of the world.

Forgiveness breaks down those walls of anger in our relationships, and flushes the resentment away. Forgiveness frees us from the burden of anger.  

Col 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgiveness is commanded by God and it is for our own benefit.  Forgiving frees us from anger and gives God the job of establishing justice. In forgiving we give up our right to retaliation, and allow God to be in charge of retribution. 

Eph 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you.

Can we follow Christ’s example and forgive one another? Can Christ’s power work within us? We are told all through scriptures to forgive as we have been forgiven. That is beyond my comprehension. Christ forgave me while I was still sinning. Christ forgave me though he knew the pain that I would cause him. Christ forgave me through great sacrifice. Yet I am so often not ready to forgive.  Through God’s strength this impossible task is within our grasp and it can bring transformation to our relationships.