A gift of reconciliation wrapped with unconditional love, tied with a beautiful white bow of forgiveness may be the perfect gift given to the undeserving one this Christmas.
Perhaps, the receiver will be slow to open this most precious gift, but the giver needs to dare to believe and offer the gift.
And once the gift is ready to give, the giver needs to cut all ties of conditions so that the gift can be free to give to receive.
We are the receivers of such a gift, the unconditional love of the Father. Its gift wrap is flowing with crimson, adorning a bow of forgiveness and is waiting under His tree to freely receive.
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Every day we have opportunities to choose forgiveness. Spouses, children, friends, neighbors, colleagues, even complete strangers can hurt us. Therefore, we are faced with daily decisions to forgive, or to ask for forgiveness, or to be bitter and full of vengeance.
Unforgiveness is a weapon of Satan to destroy the offended person from the inside to the outside. And if it is not dealt with it will turn into bitterness. The Bible says that “bitterness dries up the bones” (See Proverbs 17:22). It dehydrates the flow of life from deep within the spirit, soul, and body.
The only way to be free from this is to choose the path of forgiveness. God’s Word is very clear concerning forgiveness. It says in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” You must choose forgiveness.
3 Steps to Forgiveness:
1. Ask the Father to forgive you for the offense you have done, or for not being willing to forgive another person for what they have done to you.
2. Forgive yourself.
3. Ask the offended to forgive you.
The following is a beautiful testimony of forgiveness.
A divorced man with seven daughters was given a chance to help his daughters start to heal emotionally from years of pain that he caused them. But he struggled within himself to make the right choice. Convinced they would never believe him, he was afraid that his daughters would not accept his apology.
He also struggled to forgive himself. We shared with him the power of Jesus Christ to forgive and to release us from all unrighteousness. We gave him the opportunity to make his life right with Jesus. He accepted the offer and prayed and asked the Father to forgive him, and asked Jesus to be his Savior.
We began to explain to the man that his girls need to hear him apologize too so that they can start to heal. And without his sincere words of sorrow for the pain he has caused, they would have a very difficult life. We asked him if that is what he wants for them.
With tears he asks each one of his daughters to come to him and he looks each one in the eye and asks them to forgive him. Each one falls into his arms and cries from the depths of their hearts.
This man makes the right choice and asks for forgiveness, and you can too. And perhaps, this is the gift that is needed this season, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and the Destiny Image author of DARE to Believe and Greater Than Magic. Visit her at authorbeckydvorak.com.
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