In this fifth and final part of the series ‘Forgiveness,’ we shall contemplate the practical application of forgiveness in our daily life.

FIRST FORGIVE YOURSELVES:

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People who can easily forgive others would fail sometimes to forgive themselves. Their guilty conscience would sting them whenever their past sins would flash on their minds.

One thing we should never forget is that God would never pull out the sins He had once pardoned. The scripture says,

*He casts our sins into the depth of the sea (Micah 7:19)

*He blots out and cancels our sins and remembers it no more (Isaiah 43:25)

*As far as the east is from the west, so far as has He removed our sins from us (Psalms 103:12)

No sin is too big that He cannot forgive and how stinky rubbish, it may be. He is extensive in mercy and the power in the blood of Jesus Christ is all-sufficient to cleanse all our sins and our guilt.

WHEN YOU FIND HARD TO FORGIVE OTHERS, CONSIDER:

• No one is perfect on earth
• We also had sinned and received forgiveness from God. So, freely we have received; freely give
• We need to fulfill God’s expectations. Or we can say ‘He demands’.
• Bring into remembrance, the blunders we had once made and how we had received the forgiveness from both God and men
• Try to recollect all the good things the person had done so far (if any). This will ease our anger and gives a heart of compassion towards him/her. We can realize the hold of grudges being loosened
• What if the person is not accessible or dead: We shall tell God in prayer that we have forgiven that person truly. The Lord who weighs our hearts and minds knows our true concerns and willingness to make peace.
• If the person is still alive: pray God to pave an opportunity to make a reconciliation. We shall strive our best to convey through different modes or means to ask forgiveness – When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies be at peace with him. –Proverbs 16:7
• What if other people deny when we ask forgiveness-let it go and leave it to God. Now at least our conscience is free and our path is clear.
• Let us not forget that the consequences of unforgiveness will never profit us in any way and sometimes COST OUR LIFE
• Ultimately, pray for the grace to forgive because grace is an empowerment to do what we cannot do it by our own strength.

I hope these ‘5 parts of forgiveness‘ have helped you in many ways as you try to put it into practice. I pray sincerely that the “Holy Spirit -the reminder of all truths” reminds you of every topic that had been described so far when you come across tough circumstances in life.

Let’s make God proud by reflecting His mature nature as His ‘son and daughter’ in our everyday walk!!