Complete Forgiveness

Q: I know that Christ-followers are compelled to forgive everyone and everything. And I've read your blog about sometimes God has to help bring about that kind of complete forgiveness. So what are the signs of complete forgiveness? How do you know if the forgiveness is sufficient, adequate, complete, etc.?

A: Complete forgiveness is always evidenced by actions. If I forgive you, but don't ever want to see you again - my forgiveness isn't complete. Another way to look at it is that the result of completed forgiveness will always be reconciliation.

When God forgives us, He separates us from our sin "as far as the east is from the west." (Psalm 103:12) And then God treats us as if we had never sinned. He relates to us as though the sin had never been committed at all. In His eyes, we are sinless.

This is the kind of forgiveness that Christ-followers are compelled to offer others. We'll have a hard time, as humans, separating them from the offense "as far as the east is from the west." that's why we most likely will need God's help to accomplish that level of effective forgiveness. So if you want to know whether or not the forgiveness is real and complete, look at the strength of the reconciliation. Is the relationship completely restored - as though the matter to be forgiven had never happened? If not, then the forgiveness needs more work.