The significance of forgiveness is underrated and underused. Very few actions can benefit a relationship more than forgiveness. In fact, based on God’s example with us and in His Word, as well as personal experience, I have learned that the best advice or counsel to give for most relational problems starts with opening and walking through the gates of forgiveness and confession.
Forgiveness Is Unnatural and Powerful
Forgiveness will heal a multitude of relationship problems, but it is not natural to consider it, especially shortly after someone has hurt you. The pain of what they did to you typically removes any thinking about forgiveness – your actual cure!
Forgiveness is incredibly powerful, yet vastly underutilized. To take advantage of the power, you need to know the critical basics of forgiveness that require you to know the answers to two questions:
- What is a good working definition of forgiveness?
- How do you know if you have forgiven someone?
Applying the answers to those questions will help the significance of forgiveness become a part of your life. The more you know about forgiveness, the more you will likely use it, because a better understanding can lead to better actions.
Definitions Are Crucial
Clear communication requires precise definitions. Consider this great proverb.
The men of old…first set up good government in their own states; wanting good government in their states, they first established order in their own families; wanting order in the home, they first disciplined themselves; desiring self-discipline, they rectified their own hearts; and wanting to rectify their hearts, they sought precise verbal definitions of their inarticulate thoughts – Chinese Proverb
For life, clear definitions and clear thinking are imperative. That is true when relationships have problems, or someone has hurt you. Your feelings will often crowd out clear thinking and can lead you to take detrimental actions, exacerbating the situation.
Two words that most people do not define adequately are love and forgiveness. You already have the definition for love.
Pursuing their best; patiently, kindly, sacrificially, and unconditionally
And, if you love, you will forgive,Tags
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