The Beauty in Letting Go

Warning: In the interest in protecting people, the following story will be extremely generic…

Recently, one of my best friends was telling me a story. She was telling me about a really good friend hurt her emotionally. After explaining everything that happened, she said that she forgave her. I, being the absolute picture of upstanding Christian [ya…no] said, "Well good! But you're not going to continue a friendship right, because she acted that way?" My friend said that she will still continue to love this girl and be her friend, because "I know where her sin is coming from. We all have the same sin". In that moment… I was floored and humbled beyond belief. I was speechless.

What I saw was giving grace in action, and it was beautiful!

We've all heard that classic line, "I love, because He loved me first" What's harder is, "I forgive, because he forgave me first". What if I don't want to forgive? What if that person let their temptations or  selfishness overtake their morals so bad that I ended up being burned? What if I did nothing to deserve it? What if it is hard? 

Well, what happens is that burden of feeling that someone owes me begins to weigh me down. It wraps up my thoughts. It pulls me inward towards what I am owed and I am unable to love outward towards others. It increases my own selfishness and temptations to overtake my own morals. The sin just multiplies. 

Instead, we can choose grace. By giving up that bitterness towards a person (mostly likely for a sin that I have committed or been close to committing) I find freedom. My thoughts are no longer consumed by the injustices against me, but more on the goodness around me. And if I am able to humble myself enough to extend grace to where the world would disagree with me... wow. THAT is beautiful. 

Within the past year, I was emotionally hurt by someone who said he loved me. It never got resolved in the wordly way that we know. I never had "closure". When God answered by prayer to release my from my emotions towards him, Satan stepped in and increased my bitterness towards him. Right now, I am choosing to extend GRACE instead. Many would tell me that I am naive or stupid to do so. But he has sins just like I do. And God loves him too, just like me. 

This does not mean that I will have a relationship with him anymore. I will not go back to sharing those emotions. Because I am God's child too, and He wants to protect me from any more hurt. What it does mean is that I am wiping the slate clean between us. I no longer want to hold bitterness against him. I want to no longer be afraid of acting out towards him. There is a lightness in that freedom. And there is beauty in that lightness.