Forgiveness

God has been teaching me a lot about forgiveness recently. My blog is called Living Free In Christ, and I have found that one of the keys to living free in Him is to forgive as He does. Christ's forgiveness is not subject to conditions such as an apology, or even a promise that the guilty party will try to do better next time. While hanging on the cross; Jesus asked the Father to do one thing, He asked God to forgive the very ones who put Him there. These people had not shown any signs of remorse for their actions, in fact they mocked Him as He hung there.
You will also recall Jesus telling Peter that if someone sins against you 70 times 7(translation - an unlimited number of times), you must forgive them. This shows me that repentance on the offenders part is not necessary. You must forgive regardless of his/her attitude, even when their offenses are repetitive. It also shows me that you can not truly forgive someone and hold them at arms length to protect yourself from future offenses. The very act of forgiving someone leaves you venerable to subsequent attacks. I would like to say that in the case of physical of sexual abuse, you must use caution to protect your life and health.
Did you know that the forgiveness we receive from God is directly related to the forgiveness we show others? Matthew 6:14-15 says, "for if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Jesus told a story in Matthew 18:23-35 of a king who was settling his accounts with his slaves. One slave owed the king a massive amount of money that he could not pay, the king ordered for the slave to be sold to pay his debt. The slave begged for the king to have patience, in verse 27 the king forgave him of his debt. Later that day the same slave ran into another slave that owed him a small amount of money. The second slave begged for patience, but the first slave had him thrown into prison. The king heard the news and was furious. It says in verse 34 that the king handed the slave over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. But wait, the king forgave him the money he owed, did he reinstate his debt? No; once God forgives, He remembers it no more. The debt the slave now owed was that of unforgiveness.
Do not satisfy your own selfish pride by withholding forgiveness until the guilty party meets your criteria for being worthy of a pardon, in doing so you will only imprison yourself. Forgiveness is a wonderful gift from God. Freely give as you have been freely given.