Core value / Forgiveness*

A while back I wrote a little about Honesty as a core value as a Christian. Today I am thinking about another core value, forgiveness. A short time ago I wrote about forgiveness not being an option for a Christian.  When I think about the fact that it is not optional for a christian, it should be considered a core value for a christian. Once again, is it aspirational or actual in my life? Forgiving others regardless of the size of their wrong needs to be a way of life for a Christian. Automatic is another word I think of. Some wrongs are hard to forgive and we need God's help. In my life, I think of the guy that sold me this house I am in, I know now he set out to deceive me. It aggravates me, but as a christian I need to forgive. Perhaps that is why I am here. All things work for the good of those that love God and are called according to his purpose. Perhaps God saw that I needed help in the area of forgiving and is working on me. I can think of a couple of people that it has been hard for me to forgive. My first wife, when I look back and see what she has done to my children. I told someone the other day, I really did my children wrong when I chose this person to be the mother of my children. It took me years to realize the magnitude of the negative impact she had and still has on my children and grandchildren. Have I really been able to forgive? I need to unconditionally forgive like Christ forgives us. We need to copy God's style of forgiving, no strings attached, no if, and, or buts attached. Once again when I look at my life and how long I have claimed Christianity, I wonder if again this core value is more aspirational than actual. Some times when the hurts run deep we really do need God to help us to forgive. Once again I say forgiving is not optional for a Christian.
The other point I want to make is the only one who gets hurt by not forgiving is me. Many times the other person is not even aware of the offense. It is my heart God is trying to fix. It is I and only I that will suffer if I do not forgive. To forgive is a core value for a Christian. John 6:15 "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  God bless, LVZ.