One of the marks of a Christian is forgiveness. One of Jesus’ core commands was to forgive everyone, even your enemies. And then Jesus went on to show us how it’s done when he was crucified. In the letters to the church, this life in Christ is marked by robust and universal forgiveness.
It’s one of the most challenging parts of Christian living. We seem to be hard-wired to vindictiveness and animosity toward our enemies, so forgiveness feels like going against our instincts. It’s especially difficult because this command to forgive has been weaponized by those who have done terrible wrong-doing and then demanded “forgiveness” from their victims.
Christian forgiveness rejects vindictiveness and it also rejects victim-coercion. This Sunday we’ll be digging into how faith opens doors to forgiveness.
Peace,
Pastor Mia
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