The Whole Truth

I want to take this opportunity to microscopically look into one of the most difficult words to comprehend in Christendom. Now there are those who will say that forgiveness is not difficult to do if you are Holy Ghost filled and, for some, this may be totally correct. However, for the “brand-new” and those who may have been a part of the Body of Christ for extended periods of time, the art of forgiveness is something that many have yet to master. You see, it is one thing to say “I forgive you” and it is another thing to experience forgiveness both as the one who renders and the one who receives. So, let’s break the word “for-give-ness” down in hopes of gleaning a better understanding of this characteristic that Jesus requires we execute “seventy times seven”.

First of all, the word “for” is a preposition, which establishes relationship by rendering purpose to the noun which represents a person, place or thing. Other definitions include “with the object or purpose of; intended to belong to or be used in connection with; suiting the purposes or needs of in order to obtain, gain, or acquire; used to express a wish, as of some - thing to be experienced or obtained.” The word “for” can be viewed as the reason, proof, or justifica - tion to an afterthought or parenthetical statement. In other words, “for”, although at the beginning of the word “FORgiveness”, actually hinges on the prereq - uisite of continuously rendering compassion from the heart as commanded by Jesus Christ. Therefore, we shouldn’t just loosely throw the word “FORgive” around to exhibit some type of spiritual depth or to selfishly counterfeit our feelings to mask the reality of our emotional state which may not be suitable for that of a saint. We must be careful to avoid perpetrating a spiritual fraud because we don’t want to lose the fight. For that reason, “for” simply means this – we must view this responsibility as an intricate purpose, not only to minister, but IN ministry which fuels reciprocal benefits beyond our com - prehension. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 states “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

Secondly, the word “give” is a verb, which means action is required. One cannot “give” without purpose, hence, the word “for”. “Give” means to present vol - untarily and without expecting compensation; to be stow, to hand to someone; to impart or communicate; to place in someone’s care. The word “give” also means to contribute, to offer, to deliver, to provide, to contribute. Guess what? Right here we see that we are not responsible for the actions of others. Rather the other person says “I’m sorry” or “forgive me” is not our concern. We, who know to do good . . . we are the ones who are in the perfect position to ACT upon what Jesus did for us on the cross of Calvary. Therefore, by extending forGIVEness, we release, we let go, and we let God. “Give” is the place where we voluntarily and without expectation of compen sation replicate Christ. In layman terms, we just do it because it is right to do. Once we “give”, we place the burden of accepting forgiveness in the care of the one who is responsible for the pardon. For the record, this alone invalidates the statement, “IF I have done anything to offend you, please forgive me.” On the other hand, we do not have the strength to forGIVE in the flesh. Our ability to forGIVE comes through the strength of God. If we try to “give” from our soulish state, we have just experienced epic fail. Isaiah 55:7 states, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

THEWHOLE TRUTH 37