Forgiveness -n- quality by which one ceases to feel resentment against another for a wrong he or she has committed against oneself. Forgiveness can be granted with or without the other asking for forgiveness.

The bible teaches a lot on forgiveness; Jesus shed his blood so that all of us may be forgiven for our wrong doings. What does this mean in comparison to our lives and in relation to forgiveness to each other? In Luke chapter 11 it is said “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil”. People often times sin against us, these people can include family, friends, enemies and even those whom we love. Forgiveness is loss of condemnation for the action the person has committed against us. Unfortunately sometimes those things completely change the relationships we have with the aforementioned. Though we forgive, we aren’t to continue entering into the evil (sin) that was. There might even be times where we just need Gods healing hand, and in due time we can further communicate with the aforementioned. So many things done to us can have an effect on our hearts, like: lies, condemnation, betrayal and deceit. When sin is committed against us, the result differs. We can feel angry, sad or a number of other emotions. Jesus even had anger; however he was able to be angry without sinning. So this is where things get complicated, when we are sinned against, that sin can evolve into more sin; “unrighteous anger”. If we are angry with these people, and we condemn them for their sin, that is loss of forgiveness which in itself is sin. We have to break our ties with sin, and turn back to God, which in reality means, turning to His word. No matter what we go through in life the answer lies within the Bible. When people sin against us I believe it is important for us to pray for those people. I personally ask God to give them an understanding of forgiveness as well as patience. Sometimes things just take time. Sometimes in that time, we clearly see the lesson that God is teaching us. There are times when the sinner even needs that time; to reflect on the committed sin and to ask god to not only forgive them, but to give them strength to turn from that bondage. Where am I going with this? Though we strive to be like Jesus, we do not have the ability to forgive in the magnitude of Him. Sometimes forgiveness is simple and quick, sometimes it is complicated and timely. The more complicated, the more prayer is needed. The more prayer is needed, the more we realize the blessings we have. And all of this is for his Glory.
Much Love
Michael