I have been learning about forgiveness for awhile now and I have a unique perspective on forgiveness and in my opinion we’ve cheapened the word in our culture. Where in other cultures and time periods forgiveness was a process between the offender and the offended. Now we’ve limited forgiveness to just a word said sometimes to the offender or sometimes to ourselves just to make things feel better. There’s no process, no look at how to make things right. I usually tell clients that there’s a different word for waiting on the offender to ask for forgiveness and then to make things right.

That word, for me, is forbearance.

I think it’s a powerful concept. And the entire reason I think we have to be careful about how we talk about forgiveness is that it cheapens grace and what Jesus did for us on the cross. We can’t just say we are forgiven or that God forgives us. There’s first acknowledging that we are sinners. We have lived in a way that is wrong and not right. Then after we ask for God to forgive us we have to run the other direction from sin and towards living in the light.

When we tell people to forgive when there was no process we are doing more harm than good. And we are asking people to do something that God doesn’t even do.

Forgiving without repentance or an acknowledgement of the wrong. The Bible says God is willing and ready to forgive us. He’s waiting for us to come to him and live in a right way.

1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (ESV)

Psalm 103:8-12

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (ESV)

Acts 3:19

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” (ESV)

These verses emphasize that God is ready and waiting to forgive, but forgiveness requires our response: acknowledgment of sin, repentance, and turning toward Him.

Forbearance in Galatians: Greek Meaning

In Galatians 5:22-23, forbearance is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit. The Greek word used is μακροθυμία(makrothymia).

Throughout the New Testament, makrothymia consistently describes both God's patient forbearance toward humanity and the character quality believers should exhibit toward one another—a supernatural ability to endure wrongs and remain steadfast in love.

Read more about this on the blog www.hannahlynnmiller.com/theology

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