Forgiveness

I have been reading a book titled, "The Reason For God." It's my third time reading. There is so much in it, you have to read it a few times. I learned something new or found a new view on forgiveness. The writers definition of Forgiveness is: bearing the cost instead of making the wrongdoer do it, so you can reach out in love to seek your enemy's renewal and change. Or another definition: absorbing the debt of the sin yourself.

So basically we are doing the same thing Christ did on the cross for us, except He did it on a much greater scale. But I never really thought about this in great detail. When I forgive someone I just always thought it was just letting the sin go and forgetting about it. Letting by gones be by gones. Acting like it never happened. But acting like it never happened is where we are not like Christ. We can act like it never happened. Yet, we still remember it and we may act like it doesn't bother us but it really does still bother us. There are still things that have happened in my life that others have maybe said or done to me that I released them of the guilt by forgiving them. As it goes my memory doesn't fail me and I remember things and they bother me. I guess I really didn't forgive the act or sin the way Christ did. I didn't absorb it and take on the burden like I should have. Make sense? I hope so.

As we live life and are around other people we should be mindful that things are going to happen and people are going to wrong us and we too will wrong others. In order to forgive others we have to have the mind of Christ to be able to forgive others like we should. That being the way Christ did on the cross. He took it upon himself to take the burden of sin and absorb it instead of taking it out on the person who did it. US! The author of this book states this: We are absorbing the debt, taking the cost of it completely on ourselves instead of taking it out on the other person.

Instead of fighting over the wrong, we don't say anything about the sin or wrong doing and don't retaliate against the other person. By our forgiving Christian ability that God has given us we can be an example to others and they might be overwhelmed and want to change. God is amazing. How can anybody not believe in Him! Forgive and keep life happy for others and ourselves.