November 14, 2021 · Colossians 3:9–14

Putting On - Colossians 3:9-14

“And forgiveness is the most important ethic I believe on earth. I think forgiveness is the ethic that Jesus brought and taught to make his people different than anyone else. Forgive is this ability to say we can start over again. That thing that you did, I'm not gonna let it define us as a relationship. Now sometimes that forgiveness is, hey, I'm gonna let go of my anger and bitterness toward you, but it doesn't mean that we're gonna be best friends anymore. Sometimes it even means I'm not gonna see you again, but I'm gonna release myself from hating you, because not forgiving you is actually hurting me. From the damage you did, maybe from the abuse or something that's coming in your past. … I hope the best for them. … Forgive this is this radical ability to sense and see things from someone else is going oh, they're human, and they made a mistake. And I'm not gonna hold that over their head for the rest of their life, and when you do that for people, the power of God has released, unlike anything I've ever seen. I believe forgiveness is one of the most holy and powerful forces that we can enact in our lives. I've seen it in changed families. Resurrect relationships. I've seen it. Free people from addiction. Because harboring bitterness enslaves us. Forgiveness frees us from allowing our past and what other people did to us to control us in our present or our future.”