Fairview Community Church

From Pastor Paul 120219

Last Wednesday evening we made available some booklets published by RBC Ministries out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. These are the folks who publish the Daily Bread quarterlies. The title of their new booklet is Avoiding the Dangers of Superficial Forgiveness. Its main objective is to point out some obstacles to genuine forgiveness and restoration of relationships.

I read the entire booklet in less than two hours – and that included high-lighting some parts and looking up cited Scripture for a fuller understanding of what was    being said. A very easy read. But, a very important read!

Shallow forgiveness, the act of forgiving just to get an unpleasant situation behind you, is the root of many long range problems. It is also, frequently, the cause of the eventual dissolution of relationships that could have been healed and preserved. If this was all that the booklet addressed it would be worth reading. Yet, the content of this little missive offers so much more than that. I realized that after looking up just a few of the cited Scriptural references. Those Bible texts were right on point but I took the time to read some of the “before” and “after” passages and was amazed at what I learned.

I found that the principles of Christian  forgiveness are also, in large part, the  principles of Christian life! That is, when we practice these principles in all phases of life our entire perspective can change. It is really cultivating the growth of a Christian attitude on a 24/7 basis. Like Christ, we need to develop the habit of genuinely seeking the good of the other person. Seeking forgiveness or granting forgiveness just to get the unpleasant situation into the past tense simply isn’t good enough! We need to seek real-world solutions to real-world disagreements in order to achieve Christ’s Kingdom results! That’s really what all of our life should be about.

I read on page eight of the booklet a citation of Galatians 6:1. Now, when I looked up that Scripture I found it right on point – restoration of relationships should be the goal of all Christian forgiveness. However, I continued to read on through verse 10 of the sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia and I discovered an entire sermon on the subject of Christian behavior to one another and Christian behavior to our Heavenly Father.

I know I have read that particular passage a dozen times. And yet, by becoming        immersed in the writing of this little booklet on the subject of forgiveness it gave me a mental attitude that opened up new ways of looking at an old, familiar Bible text.

We will be happy to make additional copies of this little booklet available. Just let Sister Anne know how many copies you might need for you, friends and family members.

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Fairview Community is a dynamic spiritual organism empowered by the Holy Spirit to share Christ with as many people as possible in our church, community, and throughout the world.

To be a worshiping congregation, experiencing an awareness of God, recognizing his person, and responding in obedience to his leadership;

To experience an increasingly meaningful fellowship with God and fellow believers;

To help people experience a growing knowledge of God and man;

To be a Christian community that ministers unselfishly to persons in the community and to work in Jesus’ name.

To be a fellowship whose purpose is to be Christlike in our daily living by emphasizing total commitment of life, personality, and possessions to the lordship of Christ.