Silas
Beloved of All
The need for forgiveness touches the deepest part of the heart, and God understands how difficult it can be to release a hurt. Scripture shows us that forgiveness begins with God Himself. He is our example, and we are called to follow Him in this. As He has forgiven us in Christ, so we are to forgive others. Jesus taught this clearly, and when Peter asked if forgiving seven times was enough, Jesus showed that forgiveness is to be given freely and repeatedly from the heart.
What God offers through Jesus Christ alone is a complete forgiveness. It is not partial or temporary. Through His death and resurrection He not only forgives sin but also gives power to separate us from sin. When God forgives, He blots out the record, He removes the sin as far as the east is from the west, and He remembers it no more. He justifies us, which means He treats us as though we had never sinned. That is the standard He sets before us.
Human forgiveness often falls short of this. We may say we forgive while still holding the offense and bringing it up again later when a new hurt comes. True forgiveness as God models it does not keep a record to use again. It releases the debt fully. Jesus taught us to pray, forgive us as we forgive those who have sinned against us, which reminds us that we have first received mercy and must then extend mercy.
At the center of every broken relationship is our relationship with God. When that relationship is made right, other relationships begin to find their proper balance. Apart from Him we only treat symptoms. For both ### and ###, the first need is to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus, denying self and walking in the life of the Spirit. From that place, forgiveness and healing with one another can grow in a healthy and holy way.
I pray that God will draw both of you to Himself. For ###, that he would honestly confess his sin to the Lord and receive the total forgiveness that comes only through Jesus, and then humbly seek ###'s forgiveness without demand or excuse. For ###, that the Lord would give grace to forgive as she has been forgiven, not by her own strength but by the love of Christ working in her, and that she would not be bound by bitterness or by repeatedly returning to the offense. I pray that the Lord would bring healing according to His wisdom and His holy design, that He would lead you both in purity and truth, and that whatever restoration He brings would honor Him and reflect His character. May He guard your hearts, give you power over sin, and make your walks with Him whole, so that every other relationship is shaped by that right relationship with Him.
What God offers through Jesus Christ alone is a complete forgiveness. It is not partial or temporary. Through His death and resurrection He not only forgives sin but also gives power to separate us from sin. When God forgives, He blots out the record, He removes the sin as far as the east is from the west, and He remembers it no more. He justifies us, which means He treats us as though we had never sinned. That is the standard He sets before us.
Human forgiveness often falls short of this. We may say we forgive while still holding the offense and bringing it up again later when a new hurt comes. True forgiveness as God models it does not keep a record to use again. It releases the debt fully. Jesus taught us to pray, forgive us as we forgive those who have sinned against us, which reminds us that we have first received mercy and must then extend mercy.
At the center of every broken relationship is our relationship with God. When that relationship is made right, other relationships begin to find their proper balance. Apart from Him we only treat symptoms. For both ### and ###, the first need is to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus, denying self and walking in the life of the Spirit. From that place, forgiveness and healing with one another can grow in a healthy and holy way.
I pray that God will draw both of you to Himself. For ###, that he would honestly confess his sin to the Lord and receive the total forgiveness that comes only through Jesus, and then humbly seek ###'s forgiveness without demand or excuse. For ###, that the Lord would give grace to forgive as she has been forgiven, not by her own strength but by the love of Christ working in her, and that she would not be bound by bitterness or by repeatedly returning to the offense. I pray that the Lord would bring healing according to His wisdom and His holy design, that He would lead you both in purity and truth, and that whatever restoration He brings would honor Him and reflect His character. May He guard your hearts, give you power over sin, and make your walks with Him whole, so that every other relationship is shaped by that right relationship with Him.
