Forgiveness

Something that has definitely been on my heart lately is the issue of forgiveness.  I think too often we put conditions on forgiveness, which in my mind defeats the whole purpose of forgiving.  We say "I'll forgive you if you do this" or "I'll only forgive you if you after this".  I know it may not be popular opinion or go against everything that we've been taught, but I think forgiveness should have no bounds for us who claim to be followers of Christ.  I don't think it is something to be held above someone's head, something to be used as a bargaining chip, or anything that we should put any of our human created conditions on.  However, I do not think that forgiveness means you have to be best friends with someone.  For example, if I do something to someone and they truly do forgive me it doesn't mean that things will be exactly the same as they were before and it's not something that I should expect or be angry about if it doesn't happen.  I think a lot of times we put false expectations on situations, we feel entitled to everything or anything our hearts desire.  I think the only way to approach forgiveness is give to those what you want for yourself and be content with people not doing the same for you.  Just because we do for others what we want them to do to us doesn't meant they are obligated to.  There is a verse I love concerning love which sums up how I feel on forgiveness.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵ does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I have tried taking the part "...does not take into account a wrong suffered,  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth" to heart.  There have been many things in my life which I have the "right" to be upset or angry about something.  I ask what good does it do?  What help is it to become embittered over something..  As I've said this has been on my heart and mind lately there is a song by 10th Avenue North that I urge everyone to listen to if you haven't heard it called "Losing".  The part that really sticks out in this to me goes like this:

Well it's only the dead that can live
But still I wrestle with this
To lose the pain that's mine
Seventy times seven times
Cause Lord it doesn't feel right
For me to turn a blind eye
Though I guess it's not that much
When I think of what You've done.

I think about all this put together and feel that I am called to do what I believe, it doesn't meant that others are answerable to me for it and if they wrong me I am to forgive them without condition and to love them purely.  This has been a tough thing for me to swallow but I constantly remind myself of this and seek to rejoice in the truth and to not take into account a wrong suffered. That is all