Author and speaker Lisa Bevere says it’s very tempting to take revenge rather than responding to people with forgiveness. Using the example of forgiving our parents, she says if we fail to forgive past generations, we’re doomed to repeat their mistakes in our generation. But God doesn’t command us to like or reconcile with all people—He only commands us to forgive.
“When I ask you to forgive, I’m not saying that you need to go back into something destructive or unhealthy,” Bevere says. “There’s a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. I was forgiven 2,000 years ago when Jesus forgave me from the cross. But I was not reconciled to Jesus until I repented. Repentance precedes reconciliation. Forgiveness is just something we’re commanded to release on other people.”
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