The Key to Deep Wells

Community is on the heart of God. I have recently been corrected because God showed me I was not engaging in every facet of multi-level community.  

One fundamental truth is that community is not possible without forgiveness. 

Again, the Lord showed me that while I am quick to forgive; forgiveness is a multi-level phenomenon. Deep community demands deep forgiveness. 

Quick forgiveness is an act of obedience that keeps us spiritually clean. The kind of forgiveness that allows profound soul healing fellowship must be extensive. 

My Gramma was my main teacher in the faith. She was a radical believer and patient with me. Unfortunately, she did not do the complete work of forgiveness.  She was taught that once you forgave the work was finished, regardless of your feelings. In general, her generation did not respect emotions. Gramma would remember an offense and say through grinding teeth, "But I forgave them years ago." The unforgiveness that remained in her humanity, caused her to live outside of community. Worse yet her heart was not fully healed and thus festered with bitterness. Bitterness caused Gramma to live in isolation and sometimes walk outside of the truth.

Had Gramma heeded the signs of unforgiven still alive in her heart, she may have been able to enjoy a sense of belonging. 

The humanity of the offended must be addressed. The problem with quick forgiveness is that sometimes the emotions linked to the transgression are not revealed; what remains hidden cannot be healed.

Try sitting in the reality of your humanity, while communicating with the Lord and obediently choosing to forgive.  This technique may seem counter-Spiritual but it creates a connection with the hurt feelings while aiming to connect your humanity to forgiveness. 

This technique is like being in the fire with your Savior. The fire refines and truly burns off. The intense heat kills the flesh.

Activating forgiveness in your spiritual and emotional self takes work. If it sounds hard, that's because it is. Just like everything else Jesus modeled for us to do, it takes time, discipline, and self-sacrifice. 

This technique may not be necessary for every offense. If you have forgiven yet find yourself still struggling with feelings of resentment, then maybe your humanity is still holding on to that which your spirit has already reconciled. 

Forgiveness is a paradox. We forgive regardless of our feelings but our feelings are a sign of whether or not the complete work of forgiveness has been finished in every aspect of our being.

At the very least, allowing your humanity to express itself, in the presence of the Lord, is humbling. We see the effects our actions can have on others, and become more determined to walk in love. We see the sins of self-pity and self-righteousness active in ourselves. Embracing humanity reminds us of our need for a Savior.

Humble forgiveness brings us closer to the forgiveness of Jesus, and He is the greatest and most powerful forgiver. His ultimate act of forgiveness welcomed us into relationships with Him, others and the truth.