Before we can begin making amends to the people we have harmed, we must first deal with the people who have harmed us. Resentment is a heavy, toxic burden. We hold onto our grievances like weapons, believing that our anger protects us. In reality, refusing to forgive only keeps us locked in a prison of our own making.
Forgiveness is not about saying that what the other person did was okay. It is not about minimizing your pain. Forgiveness is the conscious decision to drop the weapon. It is choosing to release the other person from the debt they owe you, so that you can finally be free.
Why are we commanded to do this? Because we must remember how much grace we have been shown. When we reflect on the mountain of our own mistakes that God has wiped clean, it softens our hearts toward the failures of others. Forgiveness prepares the soil of our hearts for true recovery.
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