Forgiveness

Before delving into all of the practical things I look forward to sharing on this blog, I felt that I needed to share another major aspect of our health. Forgiveness. 

This one is not listed among the "eight laws of health" that I've learned and shared about, but I think forgiveness should be one of them. It's important, very important, in fact. 

What comes to your mind when you think of forgiveness? Something beautiful? 

Grace. Favor. Freedom. Those are words that I associate with forgiveness. To me, those things are extremely beautiful. 

Sometimes though, forgiveness is not always easy to extend to others, especially if you've been treated unfairly, wrongly, or even harmed by someone else.

Even still, forgiveness is very important for both our physical health and our spiritual health. Why? There are two big reasons why. I'll begin with our physical health. 

When you choose not to forgive someone, but instead, hold something against the person who hurt you, you are actually doing more harm to yourself than you are to the person who hurt you! 

To be clear, those who purposefully hurt others will answer to God for their actions one day. Those people will not "get off the hook" with God. God will deal with them. But when you choose to forgive someone who hurt you, it releases you!   

Unforgiveness often grows into bitterness towards someone. That is something very ugly that will begin to affect you more than the person who hurt you. Eventually, that will affect your physical health.

Because I'm a Christian, and I love the Lord and seek to walk with Him with a pure and upright heart, my spiritual well being also depends on me forgiving others when I've been hurt by someone. 

Jesus said: 

"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:25-26 

These are sobering words. According to this verse and many others just like it in God's Word, when we don't forgive someone of their wrong doing toward us (the old English calls it trespasses), God won't forgive us when we do wrong against Him!  

That is the biggest reason forgiveness is so important! Without God's forgiveness for our sin (our wrong doing), we are not right with God.

This was one of the first things the Lord taught me as a young Christian when I was learning to walk with Him at the age of 12: always forgive others, no matter what they may do to you. 

Jesus is our perfect example of this. While He was dying on the cross for the sins of the entire world (my sin and your sin!), Jesus prayed: 

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34 

Even while dying on the cross in extreme agony and pain, Jesus forgave those who crucified Him. Such love!

If you are reading this and you have been harmed by someone else who did that on purpose to you, God will eventually deal with the person who hurt you. God never dismisses sin. (and if you are dealing with an abusive situation of any kind, please seek help from someone you trust so you can be free from that; abuse of any kind is never right to live with.)  

Romans 12:19 says: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

Having said this, God's Word does tell us to forgive, to love, and to pray for those we think of as our enemies. Why? It's so that those people might repent and come to know God's love for them too! Loving, forgiving, and praying for those who hurt us are not natural things for our human nature to do, but with God's help, we can.  

Forgiveness is on going thing in life, and with God's help, we are to always forgive those who hurt us. There are also those who may hurt us without intending in any way to do so, and it's very important to forgive those people also.  

When we extend forgiveness to others, we reflect the nature and character of God. In essence, we get to display the love of God to others! That's an incredible privilege, isn't it? Once again, it's not always easy, but it is an honor and a privilege. Forgiveness sets us free in more ways than one! 

We are not only right with God when we forgive others, but we also enjoy better health by forgiving others!  

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, and I have no medical training. The things I share on this blog are simple, practical things that I've learned help with good health.