“I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”

What will you do with your hurt? The choice is up to you?

Life is full of opportunities to ask for forgiveness because we sin every day!  So often, we miss these opportunities for relationship building because we are moving too quickly.  We rush through life and forget to take care of one another’s souls.

Working through problems takes time.  Forgiveness and restoring a relationship takes work.  Soul care is not for the fainthearted.  But it is the mark of a true Christ-follower.  Jesus calls believers to a radical way of life that is full of forgiveness, mercy and love.  Authentic relationships in the family and church will only happen when we start talking about our sin and stop sweeping it under the rug.

Unfortunately, when we hide our sin, we are not deceiving anyone but ourselves.  To others that our watching our lives, our sin is clear.  Especially to those that live with us!  In fact, if we want to get really honest, the best people to help us grow spiritually would be those who live with us. They see our actions, hear our words, listen to our thoughts, observe our attitude.  Home relationships could cultivate Christian accountability at its finest.

But we do not like to face our sin.  We do not like to think about it, talk about it, and definitely we don’t want to be evaluated by the ones we love and told where exactly we are missing the mark and failing in our Christian walk.

But I would venture to say that when we don’t let this process happen, iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17), then we miss out on spiritual growth, maturity, and the depth of Christian community that God intended for us.  There is a reason that the Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another:  “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”  (James 5:16).  God desires for us to confess because He wants us to be healed!  It is freeing when we confess, repent, and restore broken relationships.

I have found that a key to keeping peace in relationships is asking for forgiveness.  It involves admitting that I am wrong (hard for me to do; hardly ever happens), taking responsibility for what I did, apologizing for the pain I caused, and truly asking for forgiveness.  According to wikipedia, “Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.”  As Christians, we believe that we can offer forgiveness to others that hurt us because Jesus forgave us:  “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you”  (Colossians 3:13).

Once we have grasped a tiny little bit of the magnitude of God’s forgiveness to us through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are filled with the power and ability to forgive others.  Ask Jesus to come and be the forgiveness in you that you need to extend to someone else.  And then, go say you are sorry to the ones that you have hurt.  Make things right.  Make amends.   Bring healing.  Demonstrate God’s love for the world by being an instrument of reconciliation.

You are right, you cannot do it.  Not in your own strength.  But with God’s power, and the working of the indwelling Holy Spirit, you can forgive any wrong.  Nothing is impossible with God.