Family friends and forgiveness
It happens often. There's a disagreement and two members of a family blow up at each other. One member of the family is angry. They enter the room in a rage. Doors are slammed shut. Each person then spends a couple of hours sulking and thinking terrible thoughts of the other person. After a while, they will emerge from the room, either acting like nothing happened or mumbling an “I apologize if I offended you”, or even worse an “I’m sorry” that can only be answered with “that’s okay”. The problem is that it’s not okay. We should never justify sin in our lives and it simply doesn’t cut it to say we’re sorry. We apologize or say we are sorry when we step on someone’s toes by mistake. What is needed when we commit an offense against someone is a transaction. When I sin against someone I must ask for forgiveness. I have sinned against them and caused pain in their life. It wasn’t by mistake. It wasn’t accidental, it was on purpose and just because it wasn’t premeditated or I hadn’t...