The Gift of Forgiveness

Top Highlights

“Unforgiveness, by its very nature, prevents individuals from following through on many of the specifics of the Christian life and practically necessitates that they walk by the flesh rather than by the Spirit.” (Page 4)

“The answer is simple yet life–changing in its profundity. There is something God wants more than retribution. There is something He desires more than simply being paid back for the disrespect shown Him. God wants fellowship with us. And He was willing to put His own system of justice on hold while He made provision for sinful men and women to be rescued.” (Page 23)

“Third, our concern about the needs of the other individuals will outweigh our concerns about what they did to us.” (Pages 118–119)

“When individuals refuse to forgive others for a wrong done to them, they are saying the same thing. But instead of holding people hostage until they get their demands, they withhold love, acceptance, respect, service, kindness, patience, or whatever the others value. The message they send is this: ‘Until I feel you have repaid me for the wrong done to me, you will not have my acceptance.’ If we go back to our definition, we can see that the element missing from this scenario is cancellation of the debt. Persons who refuse to forgive refuse to cancel the debt.” (Page 3)

“The destructive nature of an unforgiving spirit is such that it is not limited to one relationship. Resentment and other negative feelings spill over into other relationships. This is the second reason a person with an unforgiving spirit loses out in life.” (Page 6)