If I truly love someone then forgiveness must be part of that relationship too. It has to be because if I commit to love then I commit to forgiving...for love keeps no record of wrongs.
My forgiveness should not be half hearted as that is when punishing creeps into forgiveness. I might say I forgive you, yet in my heart, I am holding on to blame.
To forgive without punishing involves wholeheartedness. It is essential that I let go of the situation. I must give it to God, who I believe is just, true and right.
After I have spoken words of forgiveness, it is necessary for my actions to reaffirm my words. Would I be showing love if forgive with my words, yet with my thoughts and actions I retaliate?
It is not easy to forgive without punishing, however it does become easier to choose the way of love. With every sun, I am learning more and more about what it means to truly forgive. However, I am only able to find the strength to do it as I have the perfect example to follow.
I am discovering that to genuinely forgive without punishing sets you free. I am not weighed down by past hurts that I can do nothing about and I am not trying to rewrite my story.
Instead, with every sun, I am realising that ALL things are new. Steps that are yet untrod where I can make the better choice to love and forgive.
"Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you."
Colossians chapter 3 verse 13 (Good News Translation)
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