Posted by Doug Showalter on June 09, 1998 at 23:51:57:
In Reply to: forgiveness - - our model posted by Billy on June 09, 1998 at 22:22:05:
Dear Billy,
You raise an excellent question which also puzzled me sometime back. Here in a nutshell is the answer I finally came to. I see forgiveness and reconciliation as being two related, but different steps.
When we receive forgiveness from God/Jesus, reconciliation is automatically a part of it, because we have repented and therefore made reconciliation possible. In my way of thinking, our forgiveness completes [and allows us to receive] the forgiveness God already has for us. The full process is fulfilled.
However, when we forgive another person, reconciliation is not necessarily involved. We can forgive unilaterally. In fact, Jesus encourages us to do so. However, for the second step (reconciliation) to occur in our relationship with that other person, he/she also needs to repent. Only then can that true meeting of minds and hearts which reconciliation involves, take place.
In fact, much of our human forgiving does not bear the fruit of reconciliation, because we cannot control the other person who injured us. They may deny their responsibility, etc. The same is also true with God. God cannot force us to repent or to accept our responsibility for the wrongs we do.
So, in my view, the model of forgiving for Jesus/God and for us is different in some sense, but ultimately not really that different at all.
Doug Showalter