Throughout the month of February, we are exploring the importance of the words we speak to others and ourselves. Rightly used, our words affirm and testify to the truth of God’s Word. Poorly used, we trample God’s truth and our witness to the world and each other is tarnished.
Today I want to share the light and life six words bring to our relationships with others and magnify the saving work of Jesus.
“I am sorry.”
“I forgive you.”
Offering Forgiveness
Do you know what it is like to have a close, high school friend ditch you for another, more popular, friend? It stinks, right? That is what Michelle* did to me. We still “looked” like friends, but she was no longer interested in our friendship. It hurt, and it left emotional scars.
One day after high school graduation, Michelle asked to stop by for a visit. We went for a walk, and after a lot of small talk, she explained that she stopped by because she had something to tell me.
“Cheli, I am sorry.”
Then it all tumbled out of her— everything I suspected about why she ignored our longtime friendship. In humility, with contrition and sorrow over her actions, prompted by the Holy Spirit, Michelle sought my forgiveness. I acknowledged the hurt and her sincerity.
“I forgive you.”
Our friendship never returned to what it was before. Better than that, two young Believers gave and forgave in a way that testifies to the forgiveness we have in Christ. When I revisit this story, I am reminded of the power of forgiveness and the healing it brings. Michelle’s sin, her debt to me and Jesus, was cancelled— nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14).
Receiving Forgiveness
Do you know what it is like to betray a confidence and bear the weight of that sin? Have you ever made it worse by trying to justify it to yourself? I do, and I did. The guilt and shame built up in me over the course of two days. I confessed my sin to God, but the Holy Spirit pressed me to admit my sin to the person I wronged.
The phone weighed a hundred pounds when I lifted it to make the call. A few delay tactics later, I made the call, admitted what I had done, and I said,
“I am sorry.”
The woman on the other end acknowledged the hurt I caused her, and she accepted my apology.
“I forgive you.”
Then she asked if she could pray for me. Like water from a fire hydrant, words of light and life overwhelmed me. Two seasoned Believers, depending on Jesus’ work on the cross, entered a deeper experience of life in Christ as we exchanged contrition and forgiveness.
Once forgiven, the heaviness of spirit departed, and peace returned to my life. It was a good, difficult experience. Good because it shed light on the depths of Jesus’ love and forgiveness of me. Good because it returned life and peace to my soul.
My Challenge
My challenge today is to keep the lessons I have learned alive in me. I want to be always ready to offer and receive forgiveness readily and freely. I want to bear witness to the amazing love of Christ that forgives all my sin, so others may experience the light and life of God’s forgiveness as well.
*This is a fictitious name for the purpose of privacy.
[…] heart of the Gospel, and its transformative power in our relationships, addressing expressions of apology and forgiveness. “I want to be always ready to offer and receive forgiveness readily and freely,” she […]