Be kind and affectionate toward one another. Has God graciously forgiven you? Then graciously forgive one another in the depths of Christ’s love. Ephesians 4:32 The Passion Translation

Honoring Forgiveness in Action

I was shocked to walk into the church’s kitchen and hear the ladies say something about their pastor. The minute I entered the room, there was complete silence and an awkward pause. I instantly knew they were talking about my husband, Bill.

What developed next was every leader’s nightmare. Instead of coming to talk to us about the misunderstanding it grew until they seemed ready to get rid of us. They called for a “secret” meeting with the supervisor of the district for our denomination. We found out about all this later.

Mixed in the middle of all this was someone I considered to be my best friend. She had come into my life when I felt very alone and vulnerable. I had shared my heart. I now felt betrayed and hurt. This situation thrust me into a memory in my childhood.

We had lived for one year in Guatemala where I had flourished. I had friends and was jabbering away in Spanish. Then, one day everything changed and we moved abruptly back to the United States for what would be one of the hardest years of my life. The strongest memory in that season was hearing my Mom cry like her heart was breaking.

I would not understand what had happened until I was an adult. It seemed like the leadership of the church had grown jealous of the love and favor my parents had with the people in the country. As a result, my parents had elected to leave and await reassignment. This was wrong on so many levels. I took up an offense and carried it for many years.

Fast forward a decade and I am sitting at a church convention where they are honoring the very ones who had so hurt my parents. I felt anger and  wanted to stand up and let everyone know the truth. In that moment, I asked for revelation on how to forgive someone who has hurt my loved ones. I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit to release all my unforgiveness to Him. It was hurting me too much to carry it. The ones against whom I harbored the bitterness were not even aware of what that feeling had cost me.

To quote my Dad, “

Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. Colossians 3:13 TPT

Forgiveness must come as a gift from the One who forgave me so much. I revisited the memory where my Mom was crying from her hurt. Jesus was there comforting her. I am sure that is how she was able to move forward in serving him and others with no bitterness. I am learning to dive deep into the love of Christ so He can love through me. When I come up for air, I choose to release and to move forward.

Honor Keys

Forgiveness can be a difficult one because it is surrounded by a great deal of emotions that can cloud the issue. Often the one you are honoring does not realize that what they are doing is exceptional. Honor them anyway.

Active Definition

Forgiveness is choosing not to hold an offense against another because you remember how much God has forgiven you.

Synonyms: compassion, grace, mercy, reprieve, overlooking, loving, releasing

Creative Wording

I honor the way you forgive freely and with no strings attached. This is one of the many ways that God’s love shines through your life. Your lifetime of service with a singular focus on doing God’s will has given you wisdom and insight into the long-lasting value of trusting God with the details, especially in the hearts of others.

This is day eleven of a 31 day writing challenge. For more inspiration on honoring those you love, click here.

Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, check out her Facebook page – The Power of Hope. Karen’s third book on hope – The Power of Hope for Caregivers: Honor the Ride will be released on 11.20.18.