Forgiveness: The Key to Healthy Relationships

Kindness is if you would love in action. It's choosing to respond gently when you are justified, when you could react harshly. God showed kindness to us, right? Christ left the throne and did what he did for us when we did not earn it, when we were at our worst, when God was justified in saying, talk to the hand, God said, let me show you, my love, if you would. That was his kindness. [00:05:10] (33 seconds)  #KindnessInAction

Tenderheartedness, I think we innately get this, but it means to stay emotionally soft, which in today's day and age is a rare thing. You are encouraged to harden your heart. You are encouraged to line up with a camp and then every. If someone aligns on that side or they get involved with the wrong kind of person, if they've done the wrong kind of thing, you just harden your heart, you cancel them, you are done with them. That is not compassion, that is not being tender hearted. [00:06:37] (34 seconds)  #TenderheartedStrength

When the heart stays tender, you can empathize with others. You, you feel their pain even amidst them being wrong. But you try to understand why is it that they're doing what they're doing. And you keep a soft heart to that rather than if you would, burning bridges by just saying it is done until you change. Right? No conversation until you change. Right? I don't. We're done. We're done. But that's not, thankfully, how God related to us, right? He was tender, he was compassionate. He showed mercy before we deserved mercy. [00:07:11] (41 seconds)  #EmpathyOverJudgment

Forgiveness is not a one time act. It's a lifestyle for followers of Jesus. It's a lifestyle for those of us who follow Jesus. Because if you would, that was what Jesus gave his life for, right? Every relationship, every relationship, our relationship requires forgiveness because we are human and human beings will do dumb stuff, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally, right? We will stumble, we will fall, we will disappoint, we will hurt each other. [00:10:03] (34 seconds)  #ForgivenessLifestyle

This is how you know that true forgiveness is happening and that it's leading to emotional peace. You all have these stories in a family that when you get around the table, especially when, you know, maybe a kid or somebody brings a friend or a significant potential, significant other or whatnot, and you retell a story about what they did when they were younger, where they really messed up on something or what something one of us did when we messed up on something. Right. But it's told with love and laughter and like, do you remember when. And even the person that it's being told about it, they're a little bit embarrassed. But, you know, it's a story that's used for fun and they own it. But as they own it, it's not hurting them. The emotional peace has been restored through that. [00:16:02] (59 seconds)  #PeaceThroughForgiveness

Forgiveness says, listen, I release the hurt, but I still expect healthy change. Okay, so we have a conversation about something, and maybe I was short on something or unclear on something. And first of all, we process it. We don't go around it. Lynn says, that hurt, or what were you thinking? Or whatever the case might be. And we have the conversation. But when the conversation is over, she doesn't necessarily say, I forgive you. Sometimes that's been the conversation. But. But I know I've been forgiven. But along with that comes the expectation that I'm gonna try not to do that again. Now, I might do it again. After all, I'm A, a human being and B, a man. But there's gonna be genuine effort on my part. [00:19:34] (51 seconds)  #ForgiveWithGrowth

One of the great things about our relationship and the healthy relationships I have. But since this is the example that we're. I'm going to let you put 2 cents in when I'm done here, if 2 cents comes in. But is the fact that I can be. I am free to be completely me. I can have a bad day and I can react out of stress, stupidity, or a combination of both, right? And admit I was wrong and know that not only am I forgiven, but I can have another day like that. And because of that, trust is hugely, hugely built in that I'm not always on eggshells trying to be something I'm not or control, you know, because I don't want to light that fire. [00:21:41] (63 seconds)  #TrustBuiltOnForgiveness

One of the greatest acts of love that I receive and I give is when I work against my nature. And so when Lynn says, I really need help with something, right? And like I said, like with the dishes, I'm not gonna. That's not my. It's not a love to. And after all these years, it's still not a love to I can do. My mom taught me a lot of stuff. I could keep a household, so I know how to do all that stuff, right? So it's not a love to, but it is something that I learned. You know, I don't see the dishes, right? Lynn does. And it becomes stressful for her. And so one of the ways I love her is I work against my old self. I work against my nature to do something that's a blessing to her. [00:26:42] (53 seconds)  #SpiritLedMarriage

I cannot stress enough how. I have no clue how people do marriage without the Lord, without the Holy Spirit. It baffles me because I don't have enough gumption to do it on my own. And that's huge. [00:28:03] (19 seconds)  #BeyondConditionalForgiveness

Followers of Christ, however, understand that forgiveness is a fruit of the spirit. If you're unforgiving, right, you're either squelch in the Spirit or you don't have the Holy Spirit in the first place. It's a fruit of the Spirit that is freely given because it was freely received. It is a, if you would, a spiritual discipline. It's not an option. Unforgiveness is not an option for a follow of Christ. [00:30:14] (32 seconds)  #CalledToForgiveFreely