Forgiveness – A Bridge Builder

Forgiveness is a bridge builder, yet forgiveness may appear so difficult that nothing could possibly heal the broken lives. Everyone who has harbored anger and bitterness knows the alienation and separation that accompany these feelings. The desire to forgive must accept being vulnerable to possible rejection.

Thank God rejection seldom happens, but it exists in those people whose objective is distance and isolation. Rejecting forgiveness may be present in those who refuse to trust and who use it as a means of wielding power over those who have caused pain. Lack of forgiveness can be as fierce as fire burning out of control.

Being unwilling to forgive can also be subtle like a simmering pot containing secret contents carefully hidden from the one who caused you pain and suffering. Fake smiles and friendly gestures may camouflage a lethal, angry attitude, yet with God’s mercy a bridge to forgiveness can be built. It's imperative to ask God to give you the desire to be forgiving.  

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Post this at all the intersections, dear friends. Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger.

~James 1:19-20 The Message

Most important of all, you must sincerely love each other, because love wipes away many sins.

~1 Peter 4:8 Contemporary English Version