HERE ARE THE STEPS TO OFFERING FORGIVENESS TO OTHERS.
PAIN AND AWARENESS AND GRIEF
Awareness – Demands of this painful wound. Job is saying “I got unfairly hurt” – this is not right or just. He wanted an answer. Recognize the hurt and acknowledge the wound.
LOOK AT GOD – SEEING MYSELF AND MY SITUATION IN GODS EYES
Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you – thoughts to not harm you plans for hope and a future.
In my case God had loosed the hounds of heaven after me – Love Mercy Patience Tenderness, Endurance Longsuffering Forgiveness, and the endless Grace had hunted me down into all the dark parts of Satan’s empire, never fearing to stand guard over me. Love kept showing up time and time again – with a squadron of angels with one goal to protect me from myself, and from Satan until He would reveal Himself to me.
Overwhelmed by Gods Grace and seeing His love first to me ….. I had to re-evaluate all my relationships…..
**Both Jesus and Stephen looked up before their request of Gods mercy to forgive their murderers. When you look up anything is possible.**
LOOKING AT THE SINNER WITH GODS EYES – BEARING THE COST OF THEIR SIN
Victor Frankle wrote “Mans search for Meaning” who was a Jewish Psychologist in Treblinka – wondered why only 1 out of 27 survived. He found that survivor’s found meaning in their suffering. I think God recognizes this. Joseph said, “God sent me here before you”. Paul in Philemon says “Perhaps he ran away to Rome, so he could be converted” Finding a meaning in the suffering frees us…
Find meaning in your darkest hour – when surrounded by a landscape of pain – They say Transition is just before birth – Have that pain of yours birth forgiveness, for that is our only hope for tomorrow and our relief from the pain today.
In my process of forgiveness – I wanted to write a letter home – to tell my mom my birthday gift to her and my dead father, was Amnesty to all of us, in the hope of a better future. I wrote this letter – which took a week and I was sick when I was done. I missed meals as I wrestled with what this meant and the enormity of all that was done. The horror was summarized in words like – Planted in the poisoned soil of suffering – Forged your children on the anvil of abuse.
On Atonement (Yom Kippur), I was to mail this letter and a thought suddenly became real…FORGIVENESS IS A VERB. It is not a feeling – It is not just abandoning all hope of a better past. I could not mail this letter explaining the meaning I had found in the events of my life – What God had shown me was that even my letter of amnesty was still a list of charges against the guilty…Forgiveness means we don’t read the charges against them anymore – It is over….and that letter could not be mailed.
In prayer I stepped alongside my parents – I saw their childhoods and their pain. So I wrote another letter explaining how God had selected them from my conception, to be my parents, full knowing my future. I was well and God was doing great things in my life, and thanked her for her prayers for me in the years I ran with the devil.
As the parable of the king with the debtor – God had called in my marker in and forgiven me an uncountable debt. I could go alongside my parents and anyone else that had left a shadow on my life. Notice in the Parable – God calls in our debt – we do not go to him and say – Oh, by the way, I noticed that I owe you my life! It is always the creditor – debtor’s don’t volunteer.
As long as I owe God a huge debt – I must assign him all the little debts owed me by other people. God will avenge those. He will collect them.
In my prayers I could reason with God for them – I am transferring that debt to God – He can collect it. I give up my right to this debt. I will not worry about it and I no longer need an apology or money from those that hurt me.
In Philemon, God Himself in the bible sends every sinner back to us (you and me) with that letter written to all of us – Not thundering His power but He is pleading from a position of an injured one also – Through Paul a convict of Jesus…God says to you and me – “If he owes you anything charge it to my account.” Philemon 1v 18 – But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account;…v 19 I, Paul have written it with my own hand, I will repay it: Forgiveness is not about the other party – it is about us and God. God signed that letter of Philemon with His own Hand as He sends back to us, everyone that did us wrong.
REVISED VIEWPOINT – SEEING THEM JUSTIFIED
It later hit me – All was as it should be and there was nothing in my past I wanted to be changed. There was peace and a quiet confidence for I was no more like God than when I suffered as He did with injustice and hurt. The universe was as it should be and had worked together for good.
All things work together for Good to those that love God…What in your life has not worked for good? What do you hold on to, that that does not fill that category in your life?
The love and grace of God gives a peace that nothing else will matter – We have embraced God and our hearts are pure and He dwells there. No bitterness or anger ….no blood of injury crying out for justice or vengeance.
CONCLUSION
You have a chance here to have a group that forgives and is a place of peace. The devil has the people by the throat and their sin is destroying them and their children to the third generation. Offer them forgiveness and a way to heal their broken hearts. Set the captives of sin free – not by justice but by mercy. Heal the broken-hearted by pouring the love of God on them, and then they will be able to pass their hurts up to God.
May our prayer be this prayer found 70 years ago… “O Lord, remember not only the men and woman of good will but also those of ill will. But do not remember all of the sufferings they have inflicted upon us: Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering, our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne, be their forgiveness.”
This prayer was found in the clothing of a dead child at Ravensbruck concentration camp.
