The Importance of Forgiveness

Phillipians 2:5 says, "In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus." While the bible exclaims the importance to be like Jesus, it also tells us how forgiving He is. Jesus was so forgiving that he forgave the men that crucified him (Luke 23:33). Therefore, we understand that we, too, must be forgiving. In addition, we are told many times throughout the bible to be forgiving. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Now, you may be asking why we should. We are told to forgive just as God has forgiven us. As christian's we believe that we must forgive others to receive the forgiveness of God as stated in Mathew 6:14 & Luke 6:37. What limit is there to forgiveness? With all these answers one might begin to ask how many chances do you give a person and is there anything not deserving of forgiveness. In Mathew 18:21-22 Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him. He asks, "Up to seven times?" Jesus tells him, "I tell you, not seven times, but up to seventy seven times." Its evident that we are to continue to forgive, but we are not asked to remain in a situation where we must continually give our forgiveness. When someone wins against you, forgive them. Then, stop allowing them the opportunity to sun against you. Forgiveness doesn't mean you have to be okay with what happened, but rather to understand that no one but God is perfect. So, processes your emotions and then decide to no longer allow the situation to affect you. It is important to remember that people make mistakes, act out of anger, and do things they don't mean. You can't control someone else's actions, but you can control how they affect you. Once you forgive a person, you allow yourself emotional freedom. You allow yourself to be separated from the hurt they caused and heal. Forgiveness is just as vital for you as it is for the recipient.