Relationships are at the very center of life. From husband and wife, parent and child, and other family to neighbors, schoolmates, co-workers and brothers and sisters in Christ - relationships are everywhere. The Bible is filled with God’s instructions about how to get along properly with the other people in our lives.
But a strange thing happens on the way to building strong, loving relationships - people! How ironic that the very thing with which we try to grow close or get along is the very thing which prevents our achieving that goal! We are all sinners with weaknesses and faults. We have different perspectives, personal desires and unique personalities. We offend one another through both words and actions, even by silence and inaction. We all do it - some more often and worse than others.
The offense, then, becomes at the same time both a barrier between the two persons and a chain which holds them together. The offense is a barrier because it inhibits the two people from growing closer together. It is a fixed occurrence in the history of the two parties which must be removed if the relationship is to grow or perhaps even continue. In addition, the offense becomes a chain linking the two people together because as long as it exists neither person can escape from its harmful effects. No matter where they go, that offense binds them together through that particular event in their history. They cannot be free from it unless the chain is broken.
So, how can this barrier be destroyed and the chain broken? Only by forgiveness. When forgiveness is sought and granted, the offense is removed. This is the essence of forgiveness - removing barriers. When the barrier is taken out of the way, then the chain is also broken. That event, the offense, is no longer a factor in that relationship, and the two people are free to draw closer together and strengthen their bond of love and friendship.
Thus, both persons are released from the debilitating effects of the past offense. Freedom returns. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing!
><> Jeff
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