Forgiveness

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Forgiveness

Introduction

Forgiveness is one of the most important concepts in Christianity. It is something that we want to receive but people mostly hesitate to give. According to the dictionary definition, “Forgiveness means to pardon or to cease to feel resentment against (a person); overlook debt or trespass: to be, merciful or forgiving”. Various conceptions are being attached to forgiveness and one of these is, it means to stop feeling angry on someone who did wrong. In another way, it means stop making the wrongdoer realize about his/her wickedness. In Christianity forgiveness is of great importance (Bash,et,al,2018). Importance of forgiveness could be realized by considering the prayer of Jesus from the cross “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:24). Forgiveness gives the sinner a chance to repent for his/her wrongdoings. According to Christian theology there exist a close relationship between forgiveness and the Existence of God. Realization of the existence of God directs and encourages people to ask for forgiveness so that at Doomsday they could also ask God for forgiveness.

Discussion

Existence of God has the closest relationship with forgiveness. From the Holy Bible, many verses could be taken as evidence that represent how crucial forgiveness is. It is the existence and love of God that makes both parties believe that they have to forgive others. It is the fear of God and His existence that pushes one to seek forgiveness (Thomas,et,al,2019). On the other hand, ones who are being asked for forgiveness forgive others because of the fact that there exists God who loves those who prefers to forgive. Different people have different perceptions when it comes to forgiveness. Some people believe that one must not forgive other unless he/she repents while some believes that the actual belief in the existence of God and kindness lies in forgiving others even when they do not repent upon their wrongdoings, but according to me the real forgiveness is the one in which a person without expecting any repentance forgives others. I found this act of forgiveness better than any other as in this kind of forgiveness, the wrongdoer would realize that his actions or words that hurt someone are being forgiven without any repentance and this kindness would help in making him/her a better human.

Life is all about making choices (Warmke,et,al,2019). Every choice that one makes will take him to a positive side or life-giving direction or whether the choice would rob one of the opportunities to be a life-giving individual, who would be nearer to God at end of this world. Forgiving others without any expectation would not only bring the sinner out of the guilty but at the same, it would free the forgiver as well.

“Holding a grudge does not make you strong, it makes you bitter. Forgiving does not make you weak, it sets you free”

If one forgives only those who repent then one would not be following the ways taught by Jesus. In the Holy Bible, there are various evidences that support the fact that Jesus forgave those who mistreated, injured and disrespected him, even without waiting for their repentance and apology. Christianity teaches people to follow the footsteps of Jesus and inculcate in them a feeling that they should not treat people the way they treat them, rather they should treat others the way God treats them.

Forgiveness is the only thing that can give mental peace and inner satisfaction to a person. Doing wrong to others is easy but seeking forgiveness is hard. Even when someone does wrong, forgiveness could be the best answer. Forgiveness gives a right track to the sinner that reforms his words as well as actions (Worthington,et,al,2019). By taking a look at the Bible, concept of forgiveness could be easily understood. Jesus always forgave those who used to tease him. Even at the time of crucifixion he prayed to God for forgiving sins of those who crucified him. Act of forgiving people without any condition would please God and also it would give the person a relief from the pain he/she has been suffering from.

Conclusion

It could be promulgated that there are various religious teachings that have become essential part of Catholic faith and forgiveness could be viewed as one of them. It is closely linked with belief in the existence of God as one who believes that he/she has to answer the Creator for all his acts, also believes that for his own forgiveness he/she has to forgive others. Taking a look at the other side of the picture, it could be stated that one who believes that he/she has to be answerable in the court of God, would be asked whether he/she seek forgiveness from those with whom his did wrong. So as a whole, it won’t be wrong to say that before claiming forgiveness, one has to forgive. In the light of the teachings of Holy Bible, this fact cannot be denied that forgiveness cannot be separated from the belief of existence of God, as it is the realization of God’s presence that fears one to ask forgiveness from those who are being hurt. At the same time those who are being asked to forgive need to understand this fact that they have to clear their hearts from any burden by forgiving others so that they could be forgiven by God. As mentioned in the Bible,

“But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15).

Work Cited

Bash, Anthony. "FORGIVENESS AND CHRISTIANITY." Forgiveness in Practice (2018): 24.

Thomas, Richard. "I Forgive You": A pragmatic view of Afro-Christianity and Forgiveness." The Philosophy of Forgiveness–Volume IV: Christian Perspectives on Forgiveness (2019): 121.

Warmke, Brandon. "Stump's Forgiveness." (2019).

Worthington, Everett L., et al. "Mere" Christian Forgiveness: An Ecumenical Christian Conceptualization of Forgiveness through the Lens of Stress-And-Coping Theory." Religions10.1 (2019): 44.