Grace Baptist Church of Arlington

I’ve been slowly working my way through How People Change by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp.  It is filled with very helpful heart-searching material.  Just recently, I was reading a section on what it heart change looks like in life.  Before Lane and Tripp went on to talk about what that heart change looked like, they communicated that these aspects of heart change were not simply a list of things that believers should do, but what we as believers have been given by Jesus – “new life, new wisdom, new character, new hope, new strength, new freedom, and new desires” [p. 189].

Lane and Tripp went on to state three general fruits that the cross produces in the lives of believers:  1) Believers will live with personal integrity. 2) Believers will let the Cross shape their relationships. 3) The cross will give purpose and direction to a believers words and actions.  Lane and Tripp give brief meditations under each section that were all worthy of consideration, but I was especially moved by the second section, where they reflect especially on forgiveness (something that I need much of and need to give more often).

Lane and Tripp said that letting the cross shape our relationships (in terms of forgiveness) means that we are to be “ready, willing and able to forgive” (Mark 11:25; Matthew 6:12-15).  They also said that “The Cross enables me to humbly ask for forgiveness.”  And that’s where I was really struck because “seeking forgiveness means coming to someone I have wronged with an attitude of humble honesty (‘I was wrong for _________’).”  Seeking forgiveness also means that I acknowledge that “I have sinned against another person, and therefore I need to ask that person to be a part of the forgiveness process as well (‘Please forgive me’).”  Finally, when I seek forgiveness I should always “include a compassionate acknowledgment of the pain my sin caused (‘I am sorry for the pain I caused you’).” [quotes from p.192]

By God’s grace, I think I seek forgiveness fairly quickly, but I’m not sure I have always sought forgiveness as thoughtfully as described above.  Lane and Tripp have given me some good food for thought and have challenged me to be more deliberate about seeking forgiveness the next time around.  I trust that should I take on this biblical paradigm of seeking forgiveness my relationships with my wife, children, family members, fellow elders, and church members will only deepen and God will be magnified.

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Under Blog, Reflections