Hi everyone, welcome to my blog.Today I will be writing about forgiveness and repentance., as well as connecting the relationship they have with grace and reconciliation, which cannot be forgotten. Let’s start by discussing forgiveness…
what is forgiveness and is it conditional to forgive your offender?
Talking about forgiveness, it’s the act of forgiving people when they offend you or wronged you in some way. The truth is this, because we’re human beings and living in a sinful world, there is a tendency that we offend one another and at a particular time like this, forgiveness is essential on the side of the victim as much as repentance is expected from the side of the offender.
But looking into the other side of forgiveness and repentance. As Christian, there are so many questions going on in our minds especially when someone offends us.Questions like, should I forgive him or her? Is he or she remorseful enough to be forgiven? Will they take advantage of my kindness and then keep repeating the hurt? And more.
Let’s gradually answer these questions not as people of the world but as Christians who are taught to keep the commandment of God – to love one another (this includes our enemies, Matt. 5:44) … A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34
We recalled what happened in the Bible in Matthew chapter 18 from verse 21 to 22—Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother. Jesus answered seventy times seven, which directly signifies the unlimited nature of the type of forgiveness required from us—we should forgive even when our offenders failed to be remorseful of their acts.
Wait a minute please! Looking at the reply given by Jesus, we can say that the word repentance is entirely pointless when we are dealing with forgiveness, right?Absolutely not, keep reading and you will be fully enlightened. Let us go deeper into the word “repentance”.
What is repentance? Repentance is the act of feeling or being remorseful for the people we offend. The ability to admit that we have wronged someone and be humble enough to apologize, and a desire have a change of heart.Looking from a spiritual point of view, we can see the relationship between forgiveness and repentance.
Relationship Between Forgiveness and Repentance.
The word forgiveness and repentance are standalone words with different meanings. But when it comes to Christianity and the teachings of the Bible, there’s always an inseparable relationship between the word “forgiveness” and the word “repentance”.They are so closely related that the ideal outcome would be reconciliation.
Let’s look into the Bible story of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 verses 11 to 14.
The Bible narrates the story of the prodigal son who ran away from his father’s house to live a wasteful life. From the Biblical understanding, his father had already forgiven him and had no anger against him but his father’s joy and that of the son were restored fully the moment the son came back with an apology and a remorseful heart.
It was recorded that the father not only forgives him with love, but he also celebrates his return. I thought that was a really goodscripture to explain the relationship between the two different words “forgiveness and repentance” …added with reconciliation.
Prayer of Repentance and Forgiveness
Heaven Father, give me the grace to always live a life that will be free from sin,
and if in any way I sin against you or against my neighbor,soften my heart to be humble enough to repent
and seek forgiveness from whoever I offended and to walk in love towards everyone, In Jesus name, Amen.
FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION
The word reconciliation comes after the victim has chosen to forgive his or her offender and the offender has felt remorse and apologized to the person they offended.In fact, reconciliation is needed in the life of a true Christian to indicate a well-interacted forgiveness and repentance from both parties. AlthoughI’ve encountered people who claimed they’ve forgiven their offenders, but they are still not ready for reconciliation – this is partial forgiveness. And sometimes the victim can forgive, and the offender is not ready to repent.
Let’s learn to forgive others as God forgives us, even without apology. I think if we have no reason to forgive our offender, at least let God be our reason because he forgives us unconditionally., and to also repent when we’re wronged someone; this will take to grace of God working in us.
FORGIVENESS AND GRACE
Grace is God’s unmerited favor working on our behalf giving us the power and mercy to forgive. It is with His grace that we can forgive regardless of the level of hurt we endure. How do we acquire this grace from God? We ask Him for it – God has already given us everything we need to live a holy life which includes the power to forgive and repent – we pray and ask God for his grace and mercy to live beyond human thinking – it’s His desire that we walk in His power that He has given us. Without His grace, we either remain unforgiving or we forgive without being ready for reconciliation. Let’s always ask for divine Grace in our lives (as my cousin always say at the end of our devotions and prayer) to live like God, love like God, and forgive like God.
BIBLE VERSES FOR FORGIVENESS AND REPENTANCE
Are you curious to learn more about forgiveness and repentance? Do so by exploring your Bible, there are many Bible verses that discuss it.The scripture made it known to us that God has already forgiven us – decide to receive it and turn away from sin. Here are some more verses to look into…
Isaiah (1:18) 2nd Chronicles (7:14)Mark (1:15)Acts (2:38)
I hope with this post you will be able to understand much about forgiveness and repentance including their supporting relationships with grace and reconciliation. With this being my first blog, I had help from a friend to show me all the workings of doing a blog, as well as to help to write this first blog – I truly appreciate her help, thank you Chlamago.
Thank you for reading my blog post. I am looking forward to sharing spiritual growth with you atspiritualgrowthwithtoni.com please subscribe below to read more blog posts like the one.
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