Making It Practical

In this post, I want to expand the conversation to include some common misconceptions and share practical tools for developing lifestyles of forgiveness.

1.  “I am trying to forgive.”

When I hear this statement, I understand it to mean one of two things. First, it may be camouflage for choosing not to forgive. Rather than openly refusing to forgive another, we can deceive ourselves or delay the action by saying we are “trying.” But trying is not choosing.

Only choosing to forgive is consistent with Jesus’ requirement that we forgive “as” we are forgiven. In other words, the way in which we have been forgiven is the model...

Clothing Ourselves in Christ

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph 4:32)“… as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  (Col 3:12-13 ESV)

In my last blog post, titled Forgiveness Part 1, I talked about the biblical mandate to forgive and its potential to mend our relationship with God, ourselves, and others. Here I want to delve further into the why, the how, and the radical nature of forgiveness by looking at the context of the above verses.

Why we forgive: We have a new identity in Christ.

Before Paul instructs us to forgive each other in the above verses, he lays a foundation…

Mandating What Mends Us

“…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors… if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:12, 15b).

Earlier this year, I shared a message on forgiveness, and now seems the right time to explore it in writing because it flows so naturally from previous posts on the topic of peace.

As we’ve been discussing, we have peace with the Father through the finished work of the Son. This peace is more than just forgiveness of sin…

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you…” — John 14:27-31

Jesus’ statement raises crucial questions: What kind of peace is He offering, and how does it differ from the world’s? To understand this, we can examine His disciples’ expectations. They envisioned a Messiah who would conquer Rome and establish His Kingdom by force, unaware that His Kingdom would first take root spiritually, not physically.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.…” (John 14:1a, NIV)

Jesus said this at the beginning of his “Farewell Discourse” (John 14-17) when he is preparing the disciples for his death. These words themselves indicate he is about to say something troubling. At least for me, when someone starts a conversation with, “Don’t worry, but…” I immediately brace myself for unsettling news.

Revised and updated from a blog originally posted during the pandemic. It is a reminder that what was imposed on us then teaches us now. Though the topic of lockdowns seem dated, the call to wean off busy is timely.

Government-mandated lockdowns create isolation, but the real question is: do they isolate us from something or to something? Our response depends on our perspective.

“Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee” shows how people naturally react when caught in a storm—one guy’s holding onto the mast, another is puking over the side, and others are desperately trying to take control. When I first saw Rembrandt’s depiction of this event, I couldn't help but wonder, if I were in that situation, could I get close enough to Jesus to feel His peace?