Giving the Gift of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is passing on the grace we received on the cross of Christ, understanding that Christ died for us all while we were yet lost in sin. Understand that sin is all anti-Love behavior. GOD is love, so sin is anti-GOD. Christ gave His life for us while we were yet against Him. GOD through Christ showed us love before we were even capable to love, at least by His standards, and again, He is love. Many people are still incapable of love because they have not surrendered to the one who is Love. Today, when we refuse to love, we are still against Him. Don’t let your heart be bitter against those still lost in sin. They need your prayers and sympathy because the wicked one is having his way with them. They have no peace or true rest. Those who know Love must give love in light of truth for the sake of those who are bound. It starts with not counting it to their charge because they are oppressed by darkness. Fore giving them love before they know how to return it, is exactly what GOD did for you through Christ.

Forgiveness was essential for GOD’s end goal of reconciliation. I have found that most Christians are satisfied with being pardoned from sin but have failed to grasp the Lord’s vision of reconciliation. YAHWEH is calling us back into union and friendship with affections that have been alienated. Reconciliation is the restoration of the union after the estrangement. This process of reconciliation can’t take place without us having sorrow for the actions which caused the rift, or we will repeat the activity and never truly be reunited. GOD, through His word, has warned us of the behavior which cause us to be alienated from Him. If we truly value a relationship with Him, we will set our hearts in opposition to those behaviors. This is also known as repentance.

We need to really understand the words “estrangement” and “alienation” because they have nothing to do with physical proximity. You can be in the same room with someone and not be aware of them; meaning their thoughts, feelings, desires, and needs. True friends know one another’s thoughts, needs, desires, and feelings. They are not strangers or estranged. We are strangers when we have nothing in common or when we are aliens to each other. An alien is someone from another land, country, or government. When we are all governed by our own selfish desires, we are aliens to one another. GOD is trying to restore His family by calling everyone to live in Christ, by abiding in and being governed by His words, and His words are love.

The call has gone forth and the door is opened. The question is, how much do we value the relationship. Our values determine how we spend our life. Our life being our time, awareness, and energy. If we value a relationship with GOD, we will spend our time and energy seeking to be aware of His thoughts, feelings, and desires (He does not have needs because He is YAHWEH, the self-existent one). Having stated those things, it is given that if we do not value the relationship, our lives are spent in pursuit of other things.

I mentioned earlier that estrangement and alienation have nothing to do with proximity. For instance, there are many people who go to church and serve in ministries, but it is to satisfy their own desire for piety instead of acting from a relationship with GOD, where He has revealed where and how they should serve Him. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. You are free to stay at GOD’s feet until you hear from Him. To be born again is to be born of GOD’s will, not your own or the tradition of men. Trust that the Almighty can make His will known to you. Is anything too difficult for Him? Absolutely not!

The human race is a family of which GOD is the head. Our Heavenly Father has forgiven all of us through the sacrifice of Christ our Savior. He paid our debts so that we would know how to forgive the debts of others, and He has shown us grace and mercy that we may know how to extend grace and mercy to others, He bought us all with the blood of His only begotten son that we might understand how valuable we are to Him and how valuable we should be to one another. It is not about a free ride; it’s about honoring our Father’s desire to unite the family and get us all home together. Become an ambassador of reconciliation. Share the gift of forgiveness. Christ has made sure we can all afford it.