forgiveness

Whatever kind of forgiveness a man believes in, the same meaning comes back to him. It’s not necessarily the word “forgiveness” that comes back to him but the actual meaning that he attaches to the word.      If God tells you that your sins are forgiven, what does that mean to you? Does it not mean reconciliation? If God forgives our sins, nothing stands in the way. Nothing stands between Him and us. He sees us as his children. He loves us as if we never sinned.      God does not “forgive” our sins and then send us to hell to pay for them. God is not phony. Neither does He allow His children to be phony.      Jesus commands His children to love their enemies. He commands them to forgive those who sin against them. When God tells us to forgive, His concept of forgiveness is higher, more intense, than we want it to be.      We all know the benefits of forgiveness. We feel the anxious feelings of unforgiveness, and we long for relief, but we limit it to feelings. We want the feelings of forgiveness without the essence of it.*

* God said of Jerusalem, “Though I speak against her constantly, I long for her.” Though God hates our sins, he longs for us as a husband longing for his wife.    Dan Allender: “A forgiving heart hates sin and longs for reconciliation.”  It’s true that forgiveness does not always lead to reconciliation. Forgiveness is an offer, but not the granting of reconciliation.