Category Archives: God

On forgiveness Part 7: God’s forgiveness and God’s judgement go hand in hand Do we now have a problem for the Christian? We are aiming to be the sort of people who have the grace to forgive others. Yet we seem to be in the position of passing a condemning judgement. Is this compatible withContinue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 7)”

On forgiveness Part 6: The essence of giving forgiveness is not letting the harm done to you have any impact in your future dealing with the person who hurt you, but true judgement is still truth I think this is probably the essence of forgiveness. Whether you draw the incident to mind regularly, almost never,Continue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 6)”

On forgiveness Part 5: The start of forgiveness is letting go of hurt – but needs to be much more than that What about giving forgiveness? I recognise that this is said rather too glibly –  certainly, I do. I suppose that means that I approve of the idea of forgiveness, but, in practice, IContinue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 5)”

On forgiveness Part 4: Only God can mend the damage done when we do wrong Thus, the forgiveness we seek is a restoration of our relationship with God. I think that, from God’s point of view, our relationship with him can never be broken, but from our point of view, we experience our sins asContinue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 4)”

On forgiveness Part 3: Forgiveness is an action of immense weight The key “trump card” (if that isn’t too mundane a term) that Christians can play is to appeal to what was done in order to open up the possibility of forgiveness – and much more than forgiveness, to create the avenue for redemption, salvationContinue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 3)”

On forgiveness Part 2: The heart of forgiveness is restoring our relationship with God – not seeking to be “let-off” for our mistakes What is it, then, that we are doing when we forgive – and, indeed, when we seek forgiveness? Let’s deal with seeking forgiveness first, as I think that is easier. As withContinue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 2)”

(A theological reflection in 9 (rather long) parts) On forgiveness Part 1: True righteousness is complementary with forgiveness; self-righteousness is the opposite of forgiveness In my recent thoughts on the inadequacies of secularism, particularly in comparison to religion, I touched on the importance of forgiveness, and I would like to now explore this more. Firstly,Continue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 1)”

Come into the light (A devotional reflection as we approach the summer solstice. As this reflection is a little abstruse even for me, I’m splurging it out all in one go. I am struggling to put something into words – and may simply have failed – but if you care to read to the end,Continue reading “Come into the light”

“Lord, you are Lord and I want to live with you”. Part 8: Give yourself “And I want to live with you”. What do we mean by this? Firstly, if we have met someone who is supremely precious, why on earth would we not choose to be with that person – if such a relationshipContinue reading ““Lord, you are Lord and I want to live with you”. (Part 8)”

“Lord, you are Lord and I want to live with you”. Part 7: The paradox of love: to give is to receive; to lose yourself is to gain everything; to kneel in service is to be exalted Some people might object to the hierarchy that has come into the relationship – as though that isContinue reading ““Lord, you are Lord and I want to live with you”. (Part 7)”