I know what you're thinking . . . A Band-Aid?
Yes.
A Band-Aid.
That sticky piece of fabric we slap on wounds is exactly the analogy that God used to show me how I've been forgiving lately.
To make a long story short, these past 2 years the Lord has been teaching me a lot about forgiveness. This summer especially, I've made it a point to sit down & really think about these things.
And looking back on the way I’ve forgiven the past couple of years reminds me a lot of Band-Aids.
•
•
•
Like slapping a Band-Aid on a scraped knee after falling off a bike,
that’s how I forgave a certain friend of mine.
Instantly.
“One and done,” is how I viewed it.
"He’s been forgiven, I’m good to go now.”
Though I truly forgave my friend after the moments I was hurt, I didn’t allow myself to ever really look at the wound, which was just me glossing over everything in an unhealthy way.
Under the Band-Aid, never being exposed to the light & air, I slowly let it fester & eat away at me while simultaneously trying to forget everything.
I thought the Band-Aid was good enough.
What I should have done was forgive him while cleaning the wound.
The Lord has been faithful in revealing these things to me, showing me the error of my ways & helping me to peel back the Band-Aid: finally, carefully, with grace & openness.
When the hurt had been done, I thought the best thing to do was to quickly forgive so I could quickly forget the hurt. Now, peeling back the Band-Aid (though never an easy thing to do), I see that I just prolonged the healing process.
I guess I had somehow thought that if I took the time to wash the wound, then there would be more pain to experience, and that somehow forgiving him this way was like I was accepting reality as it is. That seemed too hard for me to do.
But I'm growing to understand the beauty & the importance in forgiveness.
I'm thankful that we're never called to clean our wounds alone.
So here I am, treating the wound months & months after I fell off my bike.
And do you know what I found?
Maybe a little sting here & there, but ultimately, I found peace, freedom & the beauty of allowing God to mend broken things.
God has graciously shown me the Gospel again & again & has carried me on an incredible journey towards healing & forgiveness.
In reading Matthew 18:21-35, my biggest take-away is this. . .
God expects forgiven people to forgive.
And we're not just talking about Band-Aid forgiveness, we're talking about:
full-on, deep-cleaning forgiveness from the heart.
Nothing like a wake-up-call / slap-in-the-face to knock some sense into me.
Of course!
Who am I, to NOT forgive??
Jesus, despite the pain, chose the cross. He died, not only for those who loved Him, but even those who hung Him on the cross. He forgave everyone, not just a select few.
Everyone.
And I’m part of that "everyone."
And if I’m seen as deserving forgiveness then I too must follow Jesus & forgive; to forgive from the heart.
So instead of allowing the Band-Aid forgiveness to cloud the way I view my friend, I’ve exposed the wound to a deep-cleaning forgiveness.
When we ask God for forgiveness, He no longer remembers us in light of our sin, but He views us in light of Jesus. I’ve learned this is also true when we forgive others. . .
God is graciously allowing me to see those who hurt me in light of Jesus, & not all the hurt, messy pain & circumstances that get in our way.
How do you forgive those who hurt you?
Do you slap a Band-Aid on the wound & walk away, like me?
Or do you clean that sucker & start the true healing process?
I hope you don't wait too long to truly forgive from the heart. There is so much more for you behind that Band-Aid. Let Jesus help you clean the wound.
xoxo,
katie