A peaceful reading of this page.
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"Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
Ephesians 4:32 · King James Bible
What forgiveness is
In the Bible, forgiveness is the cancelling of a debt. When someone wrongs us, they owe us — an apology, restitution, a piece of our peace. To forgive is to release them from that debt and to refuse to carry it as a grievance any longer.God's forgiveness of us
The Christian story begins with the largest forgiveness of all. Every sin ever committed by anyone who trusts in Christ has been laid on him at the cross. "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities" (Psalm 103:10). And "as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). That is the Gospel: fully forgiven.How we forgive one another
The moment we have received God's forgiveness, we owe it to one another. Jesus was severe on this point (Matthew 6:14–15; the parable of the unforgiving servant, Matthew 18:21–35). Forgiving does not mean pretending nothing happened. It does not always mean the relationship goes back to what it was. It does mean releasing the person from the debt, refusing to bring it up as a weapon, and asking God to help you truly want their good.Forgiveness is not…
…forgetting. God does not tell us to erase our memory.…trusting immediately. Trust is a separate thing. Forgiveness is free; trust is earned.
…avoiding consequences. A parent can forgive a child and still ground them; a court can forgive a criminal and still sentence them.
…a one-time act. Sometimes we forgive the same wound seventy times seven — because it keeps rising in memory.