Forgiveness is not Reconciliation

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Southeast Christian Church

Nov 3, 2021

Whether we realize it or not, a lot of us carry wounds from our childhood. Even those of us who grew up in Christian homes know the scars of being raised by sinful and imperfect parents. While there are many ways to handle hurt and brokenness, Jesus offers forgiveness. You see, his gift of forgiveness is not just for your personal sin, but also a gift to extend to others who have sinned against you.

When we forgive, we are offering this gift to those that may not have even asked for it or don’t deserve it at all, but we must remember how we received Jesus’s forgiveness. Romans 5:8b says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus died for us before we had the chance to apologize. So, while we may have every reason to hold onto bitterness against a family member, Jesus has more reasons to hold our sin against us. But he doesn’t.

Now, forgiveness won’t be easy. If it were easy, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die on the cross in order for us to be forgiven. When we feel the weight of Jesus’s forgiveness of us, we can more readily extend it to others. What we find, when we choose to forgive, is a newfound freedom. If we become people who extend forgiveness to those who deserve it least, we will become the very picture of Jesus dying for us all while we were still sinners. Just as we are to respond to his death with repentance, we can pray that our family members would respond to forgiveness with repentance that leads to reconciliation.

Reflection/Discussion Questions: Are you currently holding onto bitterness against someone? What will you do about it?

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