Thoughts on Forgiveness...

I once heard someone say, "To forgive is an act of compassion. It's not done because people deserve it." How true those words are. 

To forgive is a conscious act - and it's never easy. Forgiveness is *not* an attitude of, "Look at those wicked, evil sinners! I will be holy and forgive them." Nor is it an attitude of, "God will pour his WRATH on them, so I'll forgive them." No, forgiveness is humbly realizing that we've failed, just as they have; and we must extend mercy because Christ shows mercy to us. We all fall. We all sin and need to be regularly forgiven.

How can we claim Christ, yet believe ourselves to be so much better than our brothers…those sinners to which we're so quick to dish out condemnation and judgment? They're just like us. Don't we want Christ to forgive us our sins? 1 John 1:10 says, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his truth is not in us."

It’s easy to say, “I’m a wretched sinner.” It’s quite another matter to say, “I’ve sinned in this particular way, and I am without excuse."

I'm so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me and shows merciful kindness to me in spite of my many sins. How blessed are we, His children, to have a Father who gently shows us our sin, leads us to repentance, and wipes it all away with the blood of the Lamb. May we be as merciful as our Savior. 

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." {matthew 6:14-15}

"He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." {colossians 1:13-14}