I forgive forgiving

I Forgive Forgiving:

         To forgive forgiving means that I that I as a human being realize that my act of forgiveness is inadequate compared to the forgiveness God offers. We can say that we forgive when we really do is give a violent person permission to do it again. In the bible it says to forgive seventy times seven, knowing as humans we are prone to mess up. This awareness means that we determine to give ourselves over to God. We may not know to what extent to forgive ourselves or someone else. Forgiveness in an all embracing sense is quite a bit different than reconciliation. Reconciliation means that I not only forgive, I also get back in a relationship that I may or not be ready for. We celebrate in all situations God forgives unconditionally, despite how we at times get in the way.

          So I am left wondering what is really happening when forgiveness is offered. I want above all to give myself and others a second chance in the arena of relationship. At some levels God is the only one who can truly grant it, and yet Jesus challenges others to move beyond their prejudice to decide "what is easier to forgive or heal?" Jesus answer is both. The parable of the unforgiving steward is an example of a person not being forgiven because he missed the point about what forgiveness is all about. Maybe part of the reason is that he saw himself as "the victim" given over to needing a debt forgiven and decided to pass this designation on to his servant and therefore could not offer forgiveness because of what he felt inside. The image of a God who forgives without a need for payback is novel. Can we truly accept awesome gift of God's forgiveness of our debt, and give that gift to all others? That is the challenge we are faced with as long as we are alive. Are we victims or victors?