The Heart of Forgiveness | Philemon 1-16
How many of you need to forgive somebody? We live in a hurting world of broken relationships. Our society is very fragmented, polarized with a lot of anger. We have all been wronged by people; we have all wronged people. In the back of each of our minds, we can remember someone who has hurt us, and we struggle to forgive them. Forgiveness is one of the toughest topics to talk about because it has become taboo in our culture. A lot of people have abandoned the idea of forgiveness because it seems too hard, and it feels like it is excusing or ignoring or denying what happened. C.S Lewis: Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive. But as hard as forgiveness seems, unforgiveness creates an enormous physical and emotional stress that increases the risk of depression, high blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia, and heart disease. Unforgiveness breaks relationships and robs you of your joy. Harvard professor Dr. Tyler VanderWeele said, “Forgiveness, while often overlooked in health care discussions, is an issue of public health. The growing body of research reinforces the efficacy of forgiveness interventions in improving many aspects of human flourishing, from mental health to happiness, character, and even our sense of hope.” The reason why people struggle to forgive is that they don’t know why or how to do it. The good news is that the Bible teaches us why and how to be forgiving.
The book of Philemon is a personal letter written by Paul while in prison in Rome around 60-61 AD; it was sent with the letter to the Colossians. It is one of the shortest books of the Bible (335 words) and often overlooked and under appreciated, yet it teaches us the theology of conflict resolution and forgiveness. Philemon is a test case on the transforming power of the gospel in our relationships with others especially those who have wronged us. The Gospel informs and transforms our relationships with other people: If you have experienced the forgiveness of God, you should be willing to express the forgiveness of God to others. The heart of forgiveness is understanding that because of Jesus every hurt has a history but you don’t have to live in it and that forgiveness is never free, but it will set you free.