My Life - A Forgiveness Laboratory

When I think of all the wrong I've done,
I can't believe it's me I'm talking about.
I bet the same goes for you...
Thank God for forgiveness,
I don't know how else we could get a long.
Without forgiveness, without forgiveness.
                                     John Mellencamp

Wise words from a modern day prophet (all the good ones are musicians you know).

I really don't understand how people make it in this life without forgiveness.  My life is one huge experiment in forgiveness, especially my marriage.  Just ask my wife, she's a forgiveness expert.  As we heard a sermon on forgiveness this morning, and talked about it in Community group tonight, I just had a few thoughts I wanted to set down regarding forgiveness.

1. Forgiveness is an important ingredient for a healthy marriage.  People thinks it's love, love, love, and maybe genuine love and forgiveness go hand-in-hand.  But have you ever noticed that people who stay content in their marriage are usually great forgivers?  Believe me, they are.  In marriages that struggle, one or both parties is almost always a forgiveness cripple.

2. Forgiving is not enabling.  Forgiveness does not remove relational consequences.  Sometimes trust is harder to get than forgiveness.  When trust is betrayed, forgiveness can come immediately.  But trust has to be earned.

3. Forgiveness is a discipline.  The word "forgive" is an active verb.  When you say, "I forgive," you are doing something, not feeling something. The more you do it, the better you get.  The less you do it, the harder it is.  Like every important spiritual discipline, it should eventually become a habit you can't live without.

4.  For a follower of Jesus, forgiveness is NOT an option.  You do it out of obedience and gratitude.  God is serious about this.
Matthew 18:21-35  

Do you have any thoughts on forgiveness?  Post a comment.