FORGIVENESS

"The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;"
Daniel 9:9 NIV

What is forgiveness? When is it appropriate? Can one forgive only if the wrongdoer apologizes?

All these questions have been going through my mind lately as I have been dealing with some personal struggles with some of the relationships I have on this campus. Its amazing how many of the little, daily issues that we deal with can disappear if we have this attitude towards those who may wrong us. I dont know if it is the way I was raised or my pride, definately a mixture of both, but when I am wronged, I feel a need to be vindicated and I do not want to forgive someone until the say they are wrong. Well, the only thing I can say is that the Lord, through several different circumstances, has been teaching me the value of true forgiveness in that, I have to be able to forgive and move on, whether or not someone actually says they are sorry.

So many mistakes I have made in my life have stemmed from the very fact that I, until quite recently, have been unable to simply forgive people. The worst part of comes down to this realization I came up with the other day. I was NOT willing to give the SAME forgiveness I was EXPECTING from others!!!! To anyone reading this who may have been on the receiving end of this thought process, I am sorry and odds are that, if you are reading this, I have forgiven and moved on from any difference/issue I have ever had with you.

God commands us to love another as we love Him and part of that love is forgiveness.