Forgiveness was Given to us For us to Give

Forgiveness is a tricky issue for many. For good reason most of the time. Many desire to be forgiven and aren’t. Others seek to forgive but can’t because those they wish to forgive don’t seek to be forgiven, because they don’t see their wrong. And many people are simply not willing to forgive.

But now to the main thrust of this article:

Forgiveness was given to us for us to give.

Forgiveness is a power. Firstly, as we give it. It is for giving. It is a gift that Christians practice with fervour and joy, expansively offering a grace they only too well receive from God. It is a gift any wise person gives for those they truly love.

Secondly, forgiveness is for receiving. The giver is not unaware of the power for grace that lay in their hands. When we receive it, we are forgiven. It is given for us. When we receive it, it is given for our betterment, for our gain, for our release and for our freedom. The fetters are broken because grace was given for us. Whatever we were held by no longer holds us. Forgiveness, the gift given for us to be free again, is the greatest gift we could receive, because it meant the world to us for peace-sake.

Thirdly, forgiveness is for the seeking. This takes giving into another direction of grace entirely. When we make ourselves vulnerable enough that we put the brittle relationship before ourselves, when we jettison our selfish goals, and are able to see the log in our own eye, we throw ourselves before the judgement of another person’s mercy. That is giving for them. It aligns with the truth: I did wrong and they need to be restored because what I did damaged them. I account for the harm I’ve done. And then I have the awesome opportunity of seeing God’s Spirit at work as my telling on myself literally revives their soul. Forgiveness in the seeking is for giving another person an opportunity to experience rare justice.

Fourthly, forgiveness is for the seeing. We must see its need and necessity. We see it is for giving. In seeing that, we make the connection that life is more about giving than getting. That it is better to give than receive (Acts 20:35).

If we can break past the trap that we must be fed before we’re able to feed others, joy can at last be our possession.

When we see that forgiveness is for giving, we see that forgiveness is a generosity issue. We see that it’s not for withholding. We see and therefore accept it is an honour we have to bestow on others. And when we enter the practice of forgiveness we become conduits for God’s grace to flourish in others’ lives.

Those who willingly and even lavishly forgive, possess a heart after the God who forgave them more than they could ever repay.

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Forgiveness is not some passive art of ‘I forgive them from afar’, as if we could pretend we’ve forgiven when we haven’t. It’s for giving people in an actual transaction, where courageous generosity communicates the desire for reconciliation and restoration of the relationship. That’s real Christian love.

Forgiveness is the costliest activity of discipleship, the pinnacle of humility, the godliest act of interaction. Such an act of rectifying kindness is power to remove strongholds that have existed generationally.

Forgiveness gives for someone to receive something they’re not expecting to receive.

Photo by Javardh on Unsplash