Healing and Forgiveness

Today we are called to reflect on our sins and how they have affected our lives, and we are called to
trust in Christ to forgive us and heal us. We are called to question, How have my sins limited and
weakened me? How can I turn to the Lord to ask for healing? And how do I rid my future of such
crippling sins?

To forgive means to restore a bond of love and communion when there has been a
rupture. Sin ruptures our relationship with God and others, as also do offenses taken and given
among people. If we harbor thoughts of violence or hatred, or seek revenge or retribution, we are
contributing to the wounding of the world; if we transform those thoughts into forgiveness and
compassion, and then move beyond them to actually make amends or restitution; we are
contributing to the healing of the world. This timely, powerful and compassionate book helps
show us the way.
Forgiving others may seem to be a choice, and in one sense it is a choice, but God has been very
clear about forgiveness. He has given us specific direction in numerous Scriptures, all of which
can be summed up in just one word -- forgive! God's Word says, "And when you stand praying,
if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you
your sins" (Mark 11:25). "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you
will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37).
God is saying that it is in our own best interest to forgive! He is not talking about what is in the
best interest of the person who needs to be forgiven. We are the ones who God is trying to
protect. We are the ones who receive the most benefit from forgiveness, not the other person. A
spirit of unforgiveness complicates and compromises our daily walk with God. Forgiving others
releases us from anger and allows us to receive the healing we need. The whole reason God has
given us specific direction is because He does not want anything to stand between us and Him.
God's love for us is beyond our comprehension. Forgiving others spares us from the
consequences of living out of an unforgiving heart.
Forgiving others does not carry with it a single decision that we need to ponder. God has not
qualified one sin as being more grievous to Him than another and He has not qualified one sin
committed against us as warranting forgiveness and another not. For example, God is not saying,
"If a person lies to you or steals from you, you should forgive him, but if they abuse you or harm
your child, you can hold them in unforgiveness." He is saying to forgive everyone, always, and
do it immediately.

Forgiving others often starts as a decision of surrender-an act of our will. This surrender
invites God to begin working in our lives in a deeper level, allowing God to heal us. Just as with
Amy, we can ask God to enlighten us with the understanding that we need to fully forgive from
our hearts. We simply need to make the choice to be open to forgiveness and reconciliation.
We have a divine example for forgiving others! God knew that man needed forgiveness, so He
sent His Son Jesus to deliver all of mankind from the eternal consequences of their sins (1 John
4:9-10). Colossians 3:13 says, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may
have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Jesus not only had the power to
forgive, but to grant us the ability to forgive others just as we have been forgiven.
When the bond is broken with other people, we tend to objectify them and judge them, not
seeing them as persons, but only as objects of our anger and hurt. This is our sinful reaction. We
categorize people in terms of their transgression against us. The longer we nurture the anger and
alienation, the more deeply the resentment takes hold in our heart, and the more it feeds on our
soul. Resentment is a cancer that will destroy us if we dont forgive! It also leaks out and
damages our relations with others when we slander and gossip about those who have offended us
and try to draw others to our own side. Of course, no one should want to hear such thingsbut
we do.

Forgiveness means overlooking the sin or transgression, and restoring a bond of love. It
does not mean justifying the offensive action or accepting it as right, nor does it mean justifying
ones own anger or sinful reaction. Forgiveness means laying aside our judgments of the other
person and our own sinful reactions, and accepting others for who they are.
Gods forgiveness of us and our sins against Him is unconditional and absolute. God does not
reject us, objectify us, or bear anger or resentment against us. These are, I think, our projections
onto God of our own issues and judgments against ourselves when we sin. God does not punish
us. Rather, by alienating ourselves from God, we punish ourselves and ascribe this punishment to
Him. We turn in on ourselves in anger and self-hatred, and thus shatter our personhood, cutting
ourselves off from His love. By asking God for forgiveness, we open ourselves to His love and
acceptance, His grace and compassion. These were there already, but we neglected them. By
confessing our sins, we surrender these areas of our lives where we have justified our selfalienation from God. Repentance means not only turning away from sin, but also turning to God.
Judas was remorseful for his sinbut hanged himself. We need not only to be remorseful, but
also to open ourselves to God.
Remember, forgiveness does not justify the deed or the person, it does not provide God's
forgiveness for their actions, because only God can do that. While nothing can undo the past, we
can do something about the condition of our own present and future. Forgiving others makes a
way for our own healing to begin.

References:

Holy Bible, King James Version

Forgive and Forget by Lewis B. Smedes
Ray Pritchards, The Healing Power of Forgiveness
Totally Forgiving God by R.T Kendall
http://www.philcousineau.net/beyond_forgiveness__reflections_on_atonement__healing_the_pas
t__making_amends__r_104075.htm
http://www.agnt.org/snv/BF/BF_Week_3_Lesson.doc
http://catholicreadingreflections.blogspot.com/2009/12/healing-begins-with-forgiveness.html

San Beda College Manila

San Miguel, Mendiola Manila
College of law

A Reflection Paper on
Healing and Forgiveness

Submitted to:
Dr. James Loreto Piscos

Submitted by:
Jan Darryl Dimaculangan

March 20, 2015