Joel M Bradshaw

1At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.–Deuteronomy 15

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12)

 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)

Think of forgiveness like a camp fire. Many people like to put out the fire, but keep the embers still glowing. As if they can stay bitter and keep the anger going to flare up at a moment’s notice. No, pour water on that fire and fully extinguish it. That is forgiveness.

Or if you go in to make the final payment on a loan. You want the final payoff amount. You want to leave the room with nothing left to pay. Imagine if you thought you paid your debt just to find out that the interest was still rolling on! Many say they forgive, but in their heart they are still letting the interest accrue against the other person. That is not forgiveness.

When you forgive, you no longer bring up the matter to three people. To yourself, to the one you forgave, and to other people.–JMB