Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32
Forgiving is hard. But it is so beautiful and necessary for those who follow Christ. I'm not sure I even understand everything about forgiving, but I understand that I am so filthy dirty and the Lord sees me clean. I know this is His forgiveness. If He does this to all of us, why do we still hold dirt against each other? We are just as dirty as them!
I also know that if I struggle with forgiving, it is because something is not right with me and God. We have to constantly and continually submit everything to our Father. We have to constantly be thanking Him for Jesus, who died so we could live! We deserve nothing. If we do not understand all that Jesus has done for us to forgive and cover and to forget our sin, then we have no hope to forgive others.
Others owe us nothing. We should be filled with Christ's love and His relationship. People are only temporary gifts that the Lord has provided for us so we may glorify Him. We are not supposed to carry their burdens like Christ does. We are not supposed to be involved in taking care of their sin. It is between that person and God because that person is God's, not ours. This is not to say that we should not be in community, though. Accountability is paramount. It just can't be a forced responsibility. It is up to the one in sin to seek accountability so that others may help in the fight.
