Do I Really Need To Forgive Them?

If you live in this imperfect world of ours you have likely been ripped off, talked about negatively behind your back, or offended in some way or another.  Most people have not met Jesus yet, and some have even rejected the fact that Jesus died and resurrected from the dead for them.  The final choice of whether or not those people accept Jesus is theirs.  Eternal life or death is determined by them as Jesus died for everyone but not everyone opts to receive eternal life.  There is nothing comparable to having a personal relationship with the creator of the universe.  You can know Him now.

Whether you know Jesus or not, living with a bunch of imperfect people (as in the world around us) is not always easy.  People say and do things that are mean.  You meet people in public transport who get mad or act like they are the center of the universe over silly things.  In many cases, it’s because their personal lives are a mess so it shows.  In some cases, people even do things so evil such as sexual or physical abuse of others.  There is no excuse for ever treating others so contemptuously.  Unfortunately, abuse even sometimes happens within in the home.  Most homosexual women were abused by some man or boy somewhere in their lives and went away from men due to that evil to sexual sin.  Even without any of these harsh things, there are people who get hurt by what other people say.  The abusive words and actions are not only a cause of physical damage, but deep emotional wounding as well.  We must really be careful about what we say at all times.  We have to think about others and if we say something we should apologize, but they have to forgive.  It’s no longer on your shoulders.

Must I Really Forgive?

Is it really necessary to forgive someone?  What if they are not even sorry?  Yes, you must forgive.  We know from the Bible in Matthew 6:14, that the Lord Jesus said if you don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive you.  Your relationship with God is the most important relationship in the world.  Did you notice it doesn’t say, “You must forgive them if they apologize and act very sorry”?  With God forgiving us of our faults, there are no conditions.  For you to live a healthy and long life, you must forgive others as well. Whether they apologize or not.  They will be judged for what they do by the Heavenly Father.  Sometimes we wish we would God would judge people sooner.

Why Forgive?

After you meet God, if you are open, the Holy Spirit will draw you into a closer relationship with the Father.  He will show you bit by bit the things in your life that are holding you back from really developing spiritually.  Your spiritual strength directly relates to your physical strength.  The Holy Spirit reveals what it is that you need to deal with.  He shows you how you need to change the way you talk, how to treat others, and for every one of us, there is always someone that we need to forgive and release.

How Do I Forgive When I Don’t Feel Like It? 

You do it the same way you are born again (or ‘born from above’ as the Bible literally says).  You say it.  You say, “I forgive so and so (insert name)”.  Then every time you think about them or what they did, you say, “I forgive them”.  We are saved by faith, and we forgive by faith.  If you say it everytime you think of them, in a day or so, you will have forgiven them as your believing comes in line with your talking.

In ministry, we’ve seen many sick people healed after they released unforgiveness they had in their hearts towards others.  Unforgiveness is the root of all sorts of trouble for people. It’s not God’s plan for you!  Forgiving is so easy when you do it by faith, and so much better than holding on to the past.  When you forgive someone, you are releasing yourself from the past and opening yourself up to God’s plan for your future.

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