How To Forgive!
When Jesus saw the friends’
faith, He said to the paralytic,
“Son, your sins are forgiven
you.”
Mark 2: 5
The hardest part of forgiving another person
is acting like an offense never occurred. That
is what forgiving someone means—restoring
relationships to a status they enjoyed before
the offense took place.
It’s one thing to say, “I forgive you,” but it’s
another to act like all effects of an offense
are completely erased. After all, according
to Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, love is known
by its actions more than its words.
Jesus faced this dilemma when He healed a
paralytic man. When He told the man that his
sins were forgiven (and by extension, he was
healed), He was criticized. He was accused
of blaspheming saying He had the
authority
to forgive sins—something only God can do.
So Jesus proved He had the authority to
say, “I forgive you,” by doing something
harder. He healed the man’s paralysis.
After all, as Jesus explained,
actions
speak louder than words (Mark 2:8-11).
We cannot go through life
without being
hurt by others, We must learn to forgive.
Even more, we must demonstrate our
forgiveness by acts of lovingkindness.
Look for opportunities to do both.
"Forgiveness is to be
set loose from sins."
G. Campbell Morgan
