and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
- Matthew 6:12 (ESV)
This one verse from the Lord’s prayer sparked an interesting discussion amongst some friends last night. No one disputed the belief that if you are unable to forgive others God is unable to forgive you. But at the end of the evening we were left with an interesting question: Can you forgive someone without approaching them and doing it face to face?
As we went around the table, the answers ranged from “No, you have to contact them somehow, someway, unless they’re dead.” to a simple “yes”.
So we were told to investigate the scriptures for ourselves and come back the following Sunday evening with our answers and the scriptures to support those answers.
Needless to say, I’ve been doing a bit of research. I’m of the opinion that the best practice in most situations is to go to the person (or at least contact them) and let them know you’ve forgiven them, but that there are some situations where that just isn’t ideal. Situations that would do more harm than good.
And yes, I’ve got scriptures to support my position.
But I wanted to open this up to those who come across my blog.
What are your thoughts?
Why?
