GIFT NUMBER 4: FORGIVENESSBy Deb Forbes
copyright 2008
Forgiveness is something we all seek at one time or another. Have you ever said or done something that has upset or hurt someone else and then have to ask them to forgive you? When my kids were little one would hit the other or call them a name or yell at them and I would finally have enough of the bickering and fighting and name calling so I would tell them to stop and say I’m sorry. Of course the I’m sorry yelled at each other wasn’t what I was looking for so then I would tell them to hold hands, smile, and say I am sorry like they meant it. This got a quick response because they didn’t want to do that so they would hurry and say it the way I wanted so they would be able to stop holding hands. They may not have meant it then any more than the first time they said it but at least they were talking nice and acting nice for the moment and I think they probably didn’t think anymore about it till the next time they were fighting. The lesson I was trying to teach them was that we shouldn’t do things to hurt each other, but if we do we should say I am sorry and seek their forgiveness.
The same is true with God. We do things we shouldn’t and things that grieve God and if we ask him he will forgive us. So the 4th Gift from God I think is Forgiveness. In 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” and in 1 John 2:1-2 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”. KJV God doesn’t want us to sin but knows we will sin because we are human, so the key is if we ask to be forgiven He will forgive us. He provided this forgiveness through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ for us. All children do things that are wrong even though we, as parents, would like for them not to. We don’t stop loving them because of it but we forgive them because we love them. That is the same with God, it grieves him for us to sin and do wrong but, just like a parent, He still loves us and wants us to have forgiveness all we need to do is like I made my kids do say we are sorry and mean it and ask Him to forgive us and He will, done deal, He will forgive us and continue to love us.
So the 4th gift is Forgiveness given to us from God for our wrong doing because He loves us. Thanks be to God for being a loving forgiving God. This is a wonderful gift that we get daily if we ask for it. Remember to pass this gift on to others also so that they know they are forgiven too.
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