Restoration and forgiveness are tied up together in a way that sometimes makes it hard to distinguish, but forgiveness and restoration are also both very hard and at times very counter cultural. Have you ever noticed that there are just some folks that are really hard to ask forgiveness from or offer forgiveness to? Folks, who will say things like "well, that's your problem not mine" or "I did nothing wrong, so I don't need to apologize". It can continue the cycle of hurt.
But we can also be part of that cycle of hurt and blame when we do not offer sincere apologies when we are in the wrong. Saying things like "I'm sorry you..." instead of apologizing for truly wounding someone.
We need to get better at apologizing if we hope to find a path towards restoration. We need to be able to be vulnerable enough to confess what we have done wrong and to ask for forgiveness, both from other people and from God.
Do you struggle with apologizing? Why or why not?
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