Forgiveness and Trust

Matt. 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Him and said Lord how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Til seven times? Jesus said to him, Until seventy times seven."

Now there is a difference between forgiving and trusting a person. Just because you forgive a person of a wrong act towards you does not mean that particular person deserves to hold the same position in your life prior to the hurt or pain he or she my have caused you. I want to make sure the difference is clear because people will guilt you into thinking you HAVE to allow someone back in one hundred percent once they have wronged you. Granted this is a free country and you have freedom in Christ to do whatever you want but is that wise? The answer is, no. Forgiving does not necessarily mean you are agreeing to trust someone nor does it mean you have to be buddy buddy with them.

Peter asks Jesus how often should we forgive someone who has done evil against us? Jesus said in a nutshell as many times as it takes. Our forgiveness should be endless, but our trust limited for the Bible says to Trust in The Lord not man( Psa. 118:8). When we have been wronged it is not the best idea to allow a person back in your life as if the matter never happened. They may get 20% of your trust but they should not get the whole 100% just because you forgave them. Forgiveness is releasing yourself from the hurt that was done unto you. Where does it say you have to be best friends again? Given some relationships are more complex but the concept is still the same. A person has to earn trust but they do not have to earn your forgiveness. That is something we look to God to help us do. God forgives us every day. He doesn't care if you are a sinner or a saint. He forgives you, but does He trust you?

If He did then everyone would go to Heaven but that's not the case. How can He trust someone who stole from Him, was selfish, hated Him, hung out with His enemy(satan), lied to Him, called His Name in vain. I mean would you trust someone like that? Would you let someone into to this unimaginable place of pure perfection knowing they constantly slapped you in the face, stabbed you in the back and so forth? No you wouldn't and that's the difference in that scripture. We are commanded to forgive, but be careful who you trust! The only person we can fully trust is Jesus because He IS Perfect, but we tend to doubt Him more than man, but hey we can talk about that on another post. Everyone can't be held to the highest regard. So word of advice, forgive unto death and trust cautiously. Be blessed!