“THE PROCESS IS THE END. FOR IT IS THE PROCESS THAT IS GLORIFYING TO GOD.” --Oswald Chambers

"This life therefore, is not godliness but the process of becoming godly, not health but getting well, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way. The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on. This is not the goal, but it is the right road. At present, everything does not gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed." --Martin Luther

Saturday, October 24, 2009

forgiveness

So in visiting with friends the other night, this question came up:


Is it BIBLICAL for me to ask my friend for forgiveness when I wrong him?


Not extra-biblical, not it's a really good idea, but where is is SCRIPTURALLY?


Not passing judgement here, just where is it actually in scripture? We know we are suppose to repent with God, but then?

By asking forgiveness, what do we accomplish? Are we shifting the responsibility now to the other person to forgive us or not? To what end? To make us feel better? Not that it isn't often a good idea to ask it, but let's face it-sometimes it's not. Because if the other person can't right then (maybe they just aren't ready), they look like the bad person. Or they say they forgive because that is what they are "suppose" to say, but they may not really mean it.


We are still to seek to restore the relationship, often making restitiution as necessary (not just finacially), but do we seek THEIR forgiveness???

What do you think? And can you back it up???

1 comment:

Grandma Judi said...

don't know the book or chapter, but what about the story/parable where the landlord forgives a debt to his tenant, but the tenant refuses to forgive a much smaller debt to someone under him? I think it's in one of the gospels