Being aware of what someone has done and still choosing to forgive.
It is a choice to keep no record of wrong.
It is a refusal to punish.
It is a commitment to not tell and retell the wrongs that have been done to you.
It is a commitment to mercy.
It is a commitment to graciousness.
It is an inward condition that starts in the heart.
It is the absence of bitterness.
A confronting list I imagine. Especially to those of us who have been hurt significantly by the evil and sinful actions and words of others. Perhaps this is why RT Kendall's book carries the subtitle: "Achieving God's greatest challenge." May God grace us with the capacity to forgive as the Lord has forgiven us, that we might know the fullness of the Spirit and the joy of a free heart that is not bound up with resentment and bitterness.
Ephesians 4:32
"Be kind and compassionate toward one another, forgiving each other just as Christ forgave you."
Grace and Peace from Marcus
