Forgiveness - Part 1

As we seek to be a community of hope, living from our values, there is one key element vital to our being truly effective and loving: forgiveness. Eleven letters which hold so much emotion, so much fear and yet… , so much potential.  So much opportunity.  So much freedom.
 
If relationships, communication and storytelling are so important to us as a community then forgiveness cannot be a side issue, it has to be front and centre.  We have been sharing that prayer consists of at least 5 elements: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication (such a big word for praying for others).  When we speak of Confession we recognise is has at least a couple of sides, one of which is  proclaiming who Jesus is in our lives, the other being a willingness to let go, to say I’m sorry and release the hurt and pain caused by others or ourselves.
 
Forgiveness is a major player in the above scenario, but it is important to understand what it is and what it is not.  At its core forgiveness is letting go and setting free only to discover that the one set free is the one doing the  forgiving.  Who could have imagined!  But it’s true.  Forgiveness is breaking down the walls that have surrounded us and hemmed us is.  Walls we have built up to protect ourselves. It is important to remember though that it is not necessarily an instant process, sometimes it is done brick by brick and other times in larger or even smaller steps.  They are all steps to freedom though.