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Christian worldview on forgiveness
Teachings of Jesus on forgiveness
Christian worldview on forgiveness
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Forgiving and Forgetting “You might forgive, but forgetting is not always possible.”
There are many different responses to this statement, and different
people hold different opinions, both for and against it. I agree with
the statement, because Christians are taught that “to sin is human, to
forgive is divine”, proving that it is difficult even to forgive,
never mind forget.
An argument in favour of the statement is, as human beings, we do not
possess the capability to completely wipe out memories from our minds,
no matter how hard we may try. Also, memories involving pain and
suffering are nearly always fresh in our minds, and it is the thoughts
of this kind that we are told to forget, which is extremely difficult,
and very rarely possible.
In addition, some sins are so serious that to simply forgive and
forget is not an option. Even Jesus himself enforced this point, when
he told his disciples that one of them was going to betray him.
Forgiveness is a process. You can still feel the pain, see the events behind your eyes, and feel the loss of the people around you but you have to find a way to forgive. People think that if you forgive someone you are forgetting or saying hey I would hang out with this person now because we’re cool but thats not at all what forgiveness is. Forgiveness is righting the wrong for yourself because you want the injustice you feel to leave. It’s acknowledging to that there a wrong that was done to you and you decide how you want to think about it not anyone
Forgiving someone is a way to release us from the pain they have brought us. Justice can just be
"Time heals all wounds." is a famous line in American history. I don't think that this is true. My line would be, "Forgiveness heals all wounds." I think that Forgiveness in a very important part of life. Without it, people can not move on with their lives. Let's take for instance a murderer and the family of the person he killed. The murderer may be sentenced to death. The family of the person who was killed could go in and watch the man that killed their family member be put to death. That may give them peace of mind, but they still can not completely move on. They must forgive murderer for killing the person before they can really move on with their lives. Once they do this it will be easier for them. A book that really illustrated this is The Scarlet Letter. In this book there are three main characters, Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, and Roger Chillingworth. These three people either needed forgiveness or needed to forgive someone. Some got it, some didn't. Whether or not they received or gave forgiveness had a great impact in their lives.
The rattling story of Joseph told of a man who must struggle with the most horrid betrayal from his family in which he learned to forgive them and even helped them flourish in later life. Justified by a need to make them properly atone for their sins, Joseph put his brothers through hell and back. In the end, Joseph ended up feeling happier for reconnecting with his family and saving them from the ominous hands of the famine that plagued Canaan. Although it may seem that the Bible suggests exonerating those who have deeply wronged one shows weakness and too much leniency, forgiveness allows one to become a stronger person and allow for the restoration of bonds amongst once-close companions.
Must one forget before one can forgive? Forgiveness involves not holding a sin against a person any longer, but forgiveness is a decision of the will. Since we cannot selectively remove events from our memory, it is impossible to truly forget sins that have been committed against us. Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, in his book The Sunflower, writes of an experience that occurred when he was a prisoner in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. He recounts a day when he was taken from work and lead to the bedside of a dying man. The dying man Karl, a member of the SS, confessed to Simon about his dreadful act for he sought absolution from a Jew. As Karl begs for Wiesenthal to forgive him, Wiesenthal remained silent and walked away. Wiesenthal’s purpose is to argue whether the inhumane acts of the SS should be forgiven. Because
The moment we learn to forgive and love is when we can begin to recover and move on.
In her Cosmopolitan article titled “Get Him to Forgive You,” author Debra Wallace states that there are four steps that a women has to take in order to gain her male significant other’s forgiveness after she has “messed up:”
Forgiving is a challenge in itself, especially when people do not feel there is justification for the wrongdoing. The ability to forgive is to forget about the harm afflicted by the active person. Forgiving is an act of obedience to God’s will, but how long does it take to achieve this? People may question the difficulty of the task. Forgiving can also seem like a battle between winning and losing. For instance, in this case scenario, if the mother decides to forgive her husband, she will feel defeated. There should be consequences and no remorse for his actions. In addition, the children are hurting from the pain of disloyalty. How can they forgive his actions according to Jesus and the Kingdom?
Today, we take this parable very lightly, as we have been brought up in a culture that forgives people’s faults easily. Most people think, “Yeah, I forgive everyone who harms me.” However, if you think about it, this just isn’t true, as everyone has a couple of people they hold a grudge against, and this parable is telling us to stop holding that grudge. Forgiving is a huge part of Christian teaching and should not be taken lightly.
A strong Christian lesson on the true nature of forgiveness can be found in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount:
The substance of forgiveness is known to be an important thing and concept in the teaching of Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus has made it clear that unforgiveness is known to be a serious sin nurtured in the heart. As per Jesus Christ, it is said that the person needs to be forgiven even if a serious problem is caused due to him. If not, even we would not be forgiven from God. As per Jesus, if you forgive the sin done by the people, your heavenly will also forgive you if you have committed any sin. We would always want the heavenly father to forgive us for whatever wrong things or the mistakes that we do. In fact, we always think that it is the duty of God to forgive us. However, we never consider that the degree of offence we have done. We always think that he is the God and it is his prime duty to forgive us no matter what we do. But if somebody does the same thing to us, we always feel that it is not important to forgive them we think that we should not let them go just by forgiving them. Hence, the most important thing that needs to be considered here by us is that we should learn to forgive people (...
When I opened my yearbook, I began to reminisce about my half year of high school in China. As I flipped through the pages of the yearbook, a picture of an old man with a benevolent smile caught my eyes. Daydreaming about the incident, my eyesight became hazy, and I felt my hands becoming swollen, which always refreshes my memory of his profound words.
If you are able to look back at those painful memories and you don’t feel the pain anymore, then you know that you have truly forgiven, healed and made whole. You need time to work through your pain and loss. However, some offenses you encounter lead to a sense of loss of trust, security, friendship, relationship and a whole lot more. You may also lose your direction and forget the purpose and meaning of life when inflicted with pain through an offense. Sometimes you’re most horrible and painful experiences can teach your life valuable lessons, making you a more insightful and stronger individual through them.
Forgiveness is the act of releasing an offender of any wrong or hurt they may have caused you whether they deserve it or not. It is a decision to let go of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group of people. When we choose to forgive, we’re wiping the slate clean, cancelling a debt, or as I love to say, “Letting it go.” In the Bible, the Greek word for forgiveness literally means to “let it go.” This concept, “forgiveness,” is easier said than done. Majority of people find it very difficult to let go of offenses and hurts caused by others. I really do believe that most people desire to let it go, but we lack the knowledge of how to do it. As believers, we are instructed by God maintain an attitude of forgiveness.
Repentance is essential when it comes to salvation. One must repent of his or her sins to truly believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. As it has been correctly stated, “Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin.” One cannot repent unless he or she believes in Jesus Christ. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:25, “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.” This sums up the relationship between saving faith and repentance.