When I accepted the invitation to guest blog while a well deserved sabbatical is enjoyed by AR and her family, I once again procrastinated.\u00a0 Of course, I then beat myself up trying to force myself to figure out a topic on which to write.\u00a0 And once again, I became one of the last to turn in her work.\u00a0 I thought to myself, \u201cI sure hope AR forgives me.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 And knowing my sweet sister, AR, I am most positive she does.\u00a0 The word forgive got me thinking. \u00a0 I scrapped the beginnings of a post that I had struggled to write and started over.<\/p>\n
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I forgive you.\u00a0 I forgive you, but I won\u2019t forget.\u00a0 Can you ever forgive me? \u00a0 Please forgive me.\u00a0 Father, please forgive me.<\/i><\/p>\n
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How many times have we heard or uttered one of those sentences?\u00a0 I looked up quotes with the word \u201cforgive\u201d in them, and of course, website after website had plenty to choose.\u00a0 Quotes from famous people, quotes that made sense, quotes that made no sense whatsoever… funny quotes, sad quotes… however, for today I want to focus on these words that I am sure each one of us has thought, said or heard more than once.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI can\u2019t forgive myself.\u201d \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
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Culture today perhaps teaches us that in order to move on with our lives we must forgive ourselves.\u00a0 Indeed a difficult task.\u00a0 After all, forgiveness is hard work.\u00a0 The historic scriptures are peppered with the words \u201cforgive,\u201d \u201cforgiveness,\u201d \u201cforgiven\u201d…<\/p>\n
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Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.\u00a0 Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.<\/i><\/p>\n
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Doing some very quick research, depending on the translation used, I noted that the word \u201cforgive\u201d in the bible is used at minimum 27 times, but never once does scripture call us to forgive ourselves.\u00a0 Believe me, I have looked!\u00a0 I have had many loving conversations gathered around a table, bibles open and not one of us could find a specific verse calling us to forgive ourselves. We are called to forgive and we are called to ask God for forgiveness.\u00a0 But we are not called to forgive ourselves.\u00a0 Forgiving our own sin is God\u2019s work. If we forgive ourselves, does that truly free us? … or are we still in bondage to our wrongdoing?\u00a0 Do we have the power to pardon ourselves?\u00a0 I read a quote in a devotional that I keep in my bible:\u00a0 \u201cAs the author of Hebrews points out, if our forgiveness relies on our doing something, that forgiveness has no effect at all, outside of creating guilt.\u201d <\/i>\u00a0 And so the cycle continues.\u00a0 The enemy will continue to remind us that we are unforgivable if we cannot forgive ourselves, putting the focus on ourselves rather than the Forgiver.<\/p>\n
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The forgiveness of the cross eliminated the need for us to forgive ourselves from our wrongdoings.\u00a0 We can humbly go to God for the work that only God can do in our lives. \u00a0 So the next time you think or say \u201cI cannot forgive myself for what I have done,\u201d <\/i>remember you do not need to take on such a lofty task.\u00a0 Go to the Forgiver, with a true repentant heart. He will forgive your sin and remember it no more.<\/p>\n
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Respectfully…<\/p>\n
KS<\/p>\n
When I accepted the invitation to guest blog while a well deserved sabbatical is enjoyed by AR and her family, I once again procrastinated.\u00a0 Of course, I then beat myself up trying to force myself to figure out a topic on which to write.\u00a0 And once again, I became one of the last to turn … <\/p>\n