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jn_en_2012_04_24

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Deutsche Version | Wiki Start | Topics Collection iv

Relationships based on Forgiveness ...

Tuesday, April 24, 2012. How can we achieve relationships based on forgiveness? Do we want such relationships at all? And how can it work? What are the obstacles?

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How do we deal with failures …

I recently had a what I would call classical experience. I told someone I would do something. But I did not. There are many reasons why I did not manage to do it. Lets talk about it a little later. But the key point here is: I did not deliver.

How do you deal with people who are not delivering. They let you down on some date. They do not call. They promise something but do not carry it out. They fail to care. They fail to be there. They fail to do it properly?

For me, a basic point is honesty. If someone says: I did not manage, I am sorry - then I am ok with it. I can forgive and just help making things work myself. But if the person tries to go around it, tries to find excuses, tries to blame others, then it is more difficult. Sometimes, I can let him or her be as they are, and work with the continuing dishonesty. Sometimes it works, if they are not responsible and their behaviour can be handled somehow. But sometimes they make it just too difficult to work with it and then more severe measures need to be taken.

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How Jesus does it …

The New Testament promises us full forgiveness for all our failures, for all our sins, for everything what went wrong in our life. It offers full forgiveness even for continuing things, for repeated failures. But we need to admit that we fail. We need to go to Jesus and believe in him. Without the cross and our faith in him there is no complete forgiveness.

But then Jesus starts to live in his forgiveness. He is bearing sin - to the cross. He is talking and opening new relationships to many people around him. He is inviting every human to take part in his community of forgiveness.

People who are “in Christ” will not have any problem to say “sorry”. They will not have any problem with being honest (which does not mean that all Christians never lie). But who is in Christ has gone to God and has gained insight into the failures and the failure of his or her life, and on this background, it is easy to go to others and tell them: I have been wrong, I am sorry, please forgive me. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts

jn_en_2012_04_24.txt · Last modified: 2017/06/18 16:48 by 127.0.0.1