Un-Forgiveness

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31-32

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Words of Jesus. Matthew 6:14-15. 

I thought things were OK.  I thought the issue had been resolved and the relationship restored.

I was wrong.

Over time, the schism had grown into a chasm.  After months of silence, I chose to do the right thing and face my greatest fear and approach my friend.  After asking my friend if I had done something or said something to offend them, it was their turn to speak.

I was not prepared for what I heard.

My friend has chosen to hold a grudge and not forgive.

As I walked away with a broken heart, I realized I was not hurting for myself; I was hurting for my friend.

I also realized that although you may speak the truth in love, truth is the hardest to hear when you are not walking in it.

Un-forgiveness does not bind the unforgiven, it shackles the person who has chosen not to forgive.

Un-forgiveness severs friendships...

     cripples your walk with the Lord...

             and it will hinder your prayers...

                    But that's just me!

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." Lewis B. Smedes

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you"

C.S. Lewis