Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” Luke 17:3-5
Complete Forgiveness
"Forgiveness does not validate wrongdoing."
During a meeting where the discussion of forgiveness was the topic, a young lady said, "But if I forgive them, won't I be saying that what they did was okay?"
I replied, "No, if what they did was okay, you wouldn't need to forgive them."
Beware of two things.
First, minimizing or justifying another's wrong actions against you.
Unless you face the fullness of the offense, you cannot experience the fullness of the freedom that comes to you when you forgive them.
It is like whitewashing forgiveness; it just looks like forgiveness, but it disappears when the rains of conflict arise again.
Secondly, this applies to your own hidden or known sins.
To experience the complete cleansing God offers through forgiveness, you must fully confess the wrongdoing.
Minimizing it doesn't allow the chains to be broken, only lengthened.
Hard to do?
Impossible on your own; you need God's power.
This is why I think the disciples asked Jesus to "Increase our faith" in the gospel of Luke after He had told them to forgive their brothers seven times 70.
If you are willing, God will complete forgiveness.
Lord, You have forgiven us. Period. May we enjoy giving what You have given us! Amen