5/22/2023 0 Comments Christian worship abstractIs forgiveness more of an event or a process? In other words, having forgiven and even reconciled with someone, how do you then deal with sudden intrusions of bitterness? Does it mean you really didn’t forgive in the first place?įorgiveness is granted (event) before it’s felt (process). If forgiveness is all about making you happier-well, lots of people find that nursing a grudge is quite pleasurable! The therapeutic motive of self-interest won’t really work. You should want the wrongdoer to repent for his or her sake, for God’s sake, and for the sake of possible future victims. The ground motive of biblical forgiveness is, first, to honor God-to forgive as he has forgiven you-and, second, to bring about change for the common good. Now, true Christian forgiveness can bring you all those things-but as by-products. You do it strictly for your own mental health, your own “freedom,” your own peace of mind. The therapeutic reason for forgiveness is self-interest and self-actualization. How does our therapeutic age make forgiveness more difficult? (You can also listen to Keller’s Gospelbound interview.) I asked the cofounder of The Gospel Coalition why forgiving is so hard, whether it undermines justice, what lessons he’s learned from his marriage to Kathy, and more.
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