it may be the hardest thing you have ever done
“This is an act of superhuman proportions. It is one of the hardest things you will ever do. But once you make this decision to forgive, even in the quietness of your own heart, the liberating power of this act will immediately become apparent to you. You will be free, you will be right with God. Although you will still be in pain, the evil of the action will no longer have a hold on you. You will have risen above and opened the door to restoration.” ( Forgiveness…a magic potion )
it’s about you and Jesus
“When you see it this way, it doesn’t matter whether the other person is sorry, or whether they meant to do it or not, or whether they have made appropriate reparations or not. It’s not about them. It’s about you and Jesus.” ( Forgiveness…a magic potion )
02
let the past die
Love lets the past die. It moves people to a new beginning without settling the past. Love does not have to clear up all past misunderstandings. The details of the past become irrelevant; only its new beginning matters. (Lewis B. Smedes, “Love Within Limits)
go beyond the pain
“Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do. It is not only bearing the pain, but going beyond that to say that you won’t harbor ill feelings toward those who caused the pain in your life. But no matter how hard it seems at the moment, I promise that you will feel better and your situation will improve after you take this step.”
04
forgiveness…a magic potion
“You need to understand that forgiveness isn’t a comment on the past; it’s a preparation for the future. It’s true that “sorry doesn’t fix it” if you’re talking about the hurt that happened to you, and neither does forgiveness undo what was done. Forgiveness won’t change the past, but if you can extend forgiveness, it does fix the future.”
harboring the fruit of unforgiveness is sin
“Two wrongs can never make a right. Although evil or wrong has been done to you, you have no part in that evil unless you refuse to forgive, and thus allow the negative event, whatever it may be, to make you an accomplice of sin by harboring hate, bitterness, anger, or revenge in your heart.”
All quotes in Forgiveness…a magic potion are taken from the article Forgiveness…a magic potion for healing and renewal Part 1, see link below for more on this fascinating subject
