Forgiveness
“They’ve done too much to me...”
“I’m sorry”
“I apologize for what I have done to you”
In the following days, one of the Seven feasts of the Lord will be lived. That feast is called the Feast of Atonement. Many of us already know what atonement is, but for those who don’t, it’s forgiveness. It’s a time to be open about our mistakes and to come to the Lord with the things that we have done against Him, but also against the people around us. Forgiveness isn’t an easy task and it is one that isn’t given to everyone: therefore it’s important to be reminded of what that means on a yearly basis. If that is done, then we can never forget the humanity that connects us all to one another and the fact that we all can make mistakes.
When we come to the Father with our sins, we ask for His grace so that He can forgive us. It’s in that case that we apologize and repent, in an effort to do better. Christ talks about it a lot in the Gospel: his first messages were truly only about repentance. But the time that verse that encapsulates it in full is found in Matthew 6:12, when he says: Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us. If you decide to forgive someone completely, for what they’ve done to you, then that is what the Father will do for you. If you decide to never forgive someone else, the Father will never forgive you.
This makes your job this week very difficult. It means you have to take the time to forgive those who have wronged you. At the same time, you have to find the people that you have wronged and to ask them for forgiveness as well. It’s a simple equation where everyone forgives everyone and moves on. This is exemplified in Colossians 3:13, when it is written: Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Take the time this week to truly understand what forgiveness means and entail for you, based on biblical scripture. There are many verses about ité This feast is meant to bring you closer to the Father and so that you may have a relationship with Him. You cannot go before Him with a guilty conscience or someone else's conscience having not been relieved. It’s time to let go, for them and yourself. God will forgive your wickedness and will remember your sins no more (Hebrews 8:12).