Forgiveness in the Holy Bible

Forgiveness in the Holy Bible

"Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

Love flows from Jesus to His accusers and murderers even while they mistreat Him beyond what anyone could imagine.

Had he not forgiven His assailants, you and I could not enter heaven.

The superficial punishment one can offer your beloved ones when they go wrong is forgive them. They feel themselves ashamed of such an act shown to them by following the path of our soul Jesus.

A spirit of revenge says the other person has to pay for their actions. Pride steps in with words that you'll look weak, if you forgive. Pride steps in with words that you'll look weak, if you forgive. It seems unfair to let someone off the hook—to let them go scot free when you carry scars of mistreatment.

Incorporate Bible verses about forgiveness into your life to speed up the process.
1. Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgives you, so you must forgive others." (Colossians 3:13).
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Sir, how often should I forgive a brother who sins against me? Seven times?” “No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven! (Matthew 18:21-22). Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ." (Ephesians 4:32)

Forgiveness is not just about saying the words. “It is an active process in which you make a conscious decision to let go of negative feelings whether the person deserves it or not,” Swartz says. As you release the anger, resentment and hostility, you begin to feel empathy, compassion and sometimes even affection for the person who wronged you. Studies have found that some people are just naturally more forgiving. Consequently, they tend to be more satisfied with their lives and to have less depression, anxiety, stress, anger and hostility. People who hang on to grudges, however, are more likely to experience severe depression and post traumatic stress disorder as well as other health conditions. 

2. Reflect and remember
That includes the events themselves, and also how you reacted, how you felt, and how the anger and hurt have affected you since.

3. Forgive deeply
Simply forgiving someone because you think you have no other alternative or because you think your religion requires it may be enough to bring some healing. But one study found that people whose forgiveness came in part from understanding that no one is perfect were able to resume a normal relationship with the other person, even if that person never apologized. Those who only forgave in an effort to salvage the relationship wound up with a worse relationship.

4. Let go of expectations
An apology may not change your relationship with the other person or elicit an apology from her. If you don’t expect either, you won’t be disappointed.

5. Decide to forgive
Once you make that choice, seal it with an action. If you don’t feel you can talk to the person who wronged you, write about your forgiveness in a journal or even talk about it to someone else in your life whom you trust.

6. Forgive yourself

The act of forgiving includes forgiving yourself. If the offense came through a spouse or loved one, it's harder to move on when you see them every day. The challenge then becomes how willing are you to obey God when Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, "Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you."

To move on (I admit it’s hard to do), I remember how much God forgives me and the grace He offers when I mess up. If He can do that for me, I can certainly do the same for others (as impossible as that may feel).