Hey friends, how are you today? How are you really? It has been rather chilly in my neck of the woods. Most of the trees have lost their golden leaves and too soon winter weather will make her presence felt. But today, with its beautiful array of fall leaves on the ground, is a beautiful day, simply because this is the day that the Lord has made, we choose to rejoice and be glad in it’.
Recently, I had an epiphany. It’s not that I did not already know this, the knowledge was not actually new, but for some reason, this time it made sense. I had reason to remember these words, “to err is human’. These words are part of a longer proverb, ‘to err is human; to forgive, divine’ and was penned by Alexander Pope in Essay on Criticism, (too many times, I think, self help books [which is not necessarily a bad thing] makes us forget that the Bible said it first).
It occurred to me, for the first time really, that these words are usually applied to me, when I make a mistake. I am quick to point out my imperfection to others. It is my defense when there is a lapse in judgement. But what happens when someone else needs to hear that from me? Some time ago, someone erroneously assumed I had deliberately done something wrong. Something was wrong, but it was not me and it was not deliberate. Needless to say, I was offended. I was shocked and disappointed that someone would think that of me. ‘No one is perfect’, I thought. “I must be given some leeway to make an error”.
Here I stand in need of grace, while my heart plots the downfall of my accuser. Such irony! Such audacity! Come closer, a little closer, I want to share a secret with you. Are you ready for this earth-shattering revelation? NO ONE IS PERFECT, BUT JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF! Did you get that? The includes me and you. I love my God. He is much kinder, more loving, shows more patience and extends more grace than I ever, ever can. I remember telling my God, my side of things. But do you know what He was doing, while I was whining and complaining, He ummm… reminded me of me! “Not me, Lord! I would never falsely accuse anyone”. Uhhh… really, Brenda? Do you really want to go there? Romans 3:23 tells us ‘we have all fallen short of the glory of God’. ‘All’ refers to every single person, past, present, and future; we all stand in need of forgiveness. We were born in sin, according to Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
The starting point of salvation began at the same point for every single Christian. Now that we are saved, as we draw near to the Lord, He molds and shapes us, so that we put on more of His characteristics, such as humility and forgiveness. Forgiveness must be part of a Christian’s life. It is impossible to serve the Lord without forgiveness, from the Lord and from and to others.
Forgiveness becomes easier (not easy, but EASIER) when we:
- Don’t put people on pedestals; people will disappoint us; we will disappoint them. Remember ‘to err is human” Romans 3:23
- Acknowledge that because we have been forgiven much, therefore we must be prepared to forgive much Colossians 3:13
- Realize that God has commanded (not suggested) us to forgive Luke 6:37/Matthew 6:13
- Understand that forgiveness is necessary in order to live peacefully with others Romans 12:18
- Remember that we usually do that exact same thing, sometimes even worse! Matthew 7:4
NO MATTER WHAT THE OFFENSE IS, we must always be ready to forgive if we desire that our Lord forgive us. I know this is easier said than done, but we are not required to do this in our own strength. We have the Holy Spirit. Depending on the gravity of the offense, it does take Supernatural strength to help us forgive, because we can usually justify our reasons for withholding forgiveness; ‘they didn’t mean it’ is a good one. Another is the very real possibility that they may do it again.
How many times should I forgive the same offense? Well… how many times do I go before the Lord to ask Him to forgive me for the same offense? Remember forgiveness and trust do not always have to go together. You can forgive me, but I have to earn your trust. We trust the Lord to help forgive and continue to love. Stay close to the Lord, my friends, always, but even closer when life throws its challenges.
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Becoming HIS Tapestry 
27 responses to “IT’S NOT EASY; BUT IT’S NECESSARY”
Forgive us of our sins just as we also forgive others who sinned against us….
(Hey Brenda, Please delete my previous comment as it was wrongly written)
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I understood 😄😄😄 thank you for sharing my friend
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Forgive us of our sins just as You have also forgiven us of our sins….
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Amen and amen 🙏🏽
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Very true! Thank you for the reminder. I especially liked your bullet points with the scriptures included. Blessings!
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To our wonderful God be all the glory 🙌🏽
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“NO MATTER WHAT THE OFFENSE IS, we must always be ready to forgive if we desire that our Lord forgive us. ” It finally came to me why this is so. If we do not forgive others we hold on to our sin of unforgiveness. The Lord can’t forgive that which we continue to walk in. We’ve not confessed it, repented of it, nor ask for forgiveness. We’ve only asked for his allowance for us to keep walking in our sin.
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Well, well said; when we ask for forgiveness, repentance indicates that we’ve turned away from our sin
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Are you excited to have blizzards? 🙂 I can envision you playing in the snow and perhaps camping in it.
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This year my new thing is to learn to ski. Pray for me 😂😂
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Thankful for Jesus’ example we have to follow.
A broken world reminds us we have many opportunities to fulfill God’s will, offering forgiveness being one of the most common expectations!!
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Amen and amen. But when the pain goes deep, how difficult such a simple concept becomes. May the a lord strengthen us
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Good advice: always be ready to forgive!
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Amen and amen 🙏🏽 always be ready because it will be necessary at one time or another
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Forwarding this link to a friend in need of forgiveness from his wife; don’t even know if he will share it with her, but praying she will take it to heart and forgive him.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
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Forwarding this link to a friend in need of forgiveness from his wife; don’t even know if he will share it with her, but praying she will take it to heart and forgive him.
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I do pray that she forgives, there are times when it does take supernatural strength. But the Lord rewards our sacrifice.
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This was very good, my friend; it’s funny as God was just dealing with me about the following peace with all men. Also, when people deliberately cut us off in traffic. I have an “inner” road rage mentality…lol, so I would get mad, but then God tapped me on the shoulder and was like, “Forgive them” I was like whattttttttt???? Haha, but you said it very well, “No matter the offense, we still have to forgive if we want our father in heaven to forgive us of our trespasses.” That is a very good word, and this post reminds us of what we all should do – daily. Much Love, Sis!
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Thank you, my friend. To our great and mighty God be all the glory. Our God certainly gives us everything we need to live godly lives
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Oh, thank you for this! I’m going through a rough patch, and I’m going to write those five points down. Humility and forgiveness. “….forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” AMEN!
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Indeed I have found that it’s usually when my pride is hurt or when my feelings are hurt that forgiveness is most difficult
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“To err is human”…Brenda, you’re always blessing us with TRUTH and beauty (including YOU). I’m so thankful for God’s grace. My life has been scattered with errors and God makes it right through his tugging at our Spirit and reminding us that HE alone is perfect. God bless you my friend! Thank you for being a light in this world! 💛🙏🏻
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Thank you, my friend 🥰 forgiveness can be one of the most difficult concepts, but whenever I remember I am always in need of 👌🏽God’s forgiveness, then I lay my grievance at His feet
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You’re welcome ☺️. Amen! Beautifully said! 💛🙏🏻
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Yikes, yes, that is a tough one. Our pride often leads us to forget that we sin the same sins, and expect forgiveness from others. That same pride interferes with us forgiving others.
Thank you for a timely reminder of God’s grace and direction and strength.
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I have found that forgiveness is ‘easy’ until it isn’t 😍until it requires that I surrender my pride, my justice, my feelings and many times, on my own, I just don’t want to until I feel the perpetrator has groveled enough, BUT GOD…
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“But God!” ❤
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