The Knife of Never Letting Go

Mat 6:14-15 (NIV) "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

              TO FORGIVE IS TO FORGET.  Bury the hatchet. Let bygones be bygones. Kiss and make up. We have so many ways of describing forgiveness—but so few strategies for actually achieving it.

               What is natural to "the flesh"  when we have been hurt or abused or insulted is to strike back, to plot revenge, or to simmer in bitterness. This is "only human". But God requires forgiveness, else He will NOT forgive us. If we are unwilling--or unable--to forgive, then there is no use asking God for what He has told us He will not give. For believers, dealing with the sin of unforgiveness is first priority. Forgiveness isn't easily given to a person. The inability to really forgive is often due to a false concept that "forgetting is forgiving". Forgetting is NOT forgiving. To be sure, if we forgive we will forget as a result. But the reverse is not true: forgetting is not forgiving--it is denial. For me, that person should show that he/she is really sorry for what they have done before I pardon them. If you easily forgive the sinner, they would think that it's okay for them to hurt you no matter how many times because you easily forgive them. That's what I always put to my mind when someone hurts me. Why denial? Because we can forget but we can't erase it completely from our memories cause it already had made a mark on our mind. We try to deny it when someone ask us about it.

               For instance, when you accidentally trip, you'll either have a scraped or bruised knee. You'll feel pain but it will only last for a few minutes. After some time, that bruise will fade and will leave no mark as if nothing happened. But if you get a knife and slash it in your arm, you'll feel intense pain that'l last until it heals. It does heal but it also leave a permanent scar with it. We should learn to choose our words carefully, as we can hurt, and mislead others. Words can't be taken back, once you give them away. Harsh words are like bullets: no matter what, they can still leave a painful injury. And sometimes, a sorry is not enough to heal the wounds you leave. The tongue is like a sharp knife, it kills without drawing blood.