LOVE and FORGIVENESS

Not a few people, even many Christians, are under the impression that they have forgiven every sin and injustice done against them. However, the fundamental problem with their perceived forgiveness is they have conditioned their forgiveness upon their own standard, their own personal set of rules. The telling sign of a fake forgiveness is that it comes with strings attached. Their willingness to forgive only goes as far as, but never past, a certain point. Their version of forgiveness never goes beyond that certain point into the forbidden zone. Many a Christian's willingness to forgive never goes far enough, it never reaches the level to where their forgiveness matches the kind of forgiveness they have been forgiven with by God, and to which they are called by the Word of God. The message of the Scriptures for the believer is this: Love as you are loved. Forgive as you are forgiven. With forgiveness comes the responsibility to forgive. Being loved by God comes with an obligation to love and forgive your fellow man.