Christmas is a Time For Forgiveness: 5 Easy Steps To Help You Let Go of Anger and Forgive

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For a long time, Mother kept trying to get her to say, “I forgive my son.” Finally, just before the woman died, she was able to say the words with real forgiveness . It is also important, St. Francis says, to have patience and meekness towards ourselves in the process. If we commit a fault in our anger or in our pain, we must correct our own heart calmly and with compassion. In this case, St. Francis suggests saying these words to ourselves: For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses,” Jesus says in Matthew 6:14-15. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. That year, as I gave one of my favorite toys, I understood a little better our Heavenly Father’s gift to us—His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who lovingly and selflessly gave His life for us.

I never used to go with him to the midnight mass. That started from when the children were small and I'd stay home with them and it just became the thing. But I'd wait up for him. When I heard the door I thought he must have forgotten his wallet or something. Even when I saw the police officers there and they told me Alan had had an accident and hurt his head, I just thought 'Oh he'll be wanting to get home as soon as he can'. Our daughter had just arrived from Mozambique and we hadn't seen her for two years. I drove to the hospital thinking I could bring him home." And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Love is always founded in truth. … Lies and deceit, or any other violation of the moral law, are proofs of love’s absence. Love perishes in the midst of untruth. … Thus, … [he] who falsifies to his loved one, or offers her any act contrary to truth, does not really love her. Temptation to a certain sin…might last throughout our whole life,” he writes, “yet it can never make us displeasing to God’s Majesty provided we do not…give consent to it.” God paid a very dear cost for us to receive the Gift of eternal life through Jesus. He gave His one and only Son so that we could have life. Most of us understand eternal life as being something that we will receive after we die. But that isn't the full meaning. You see ETERNAL means endless, never-ending, everlasting, and timeless. The moment we accept the offer of Jesus' sacrifice of LIFE, we begin our eternal, never ending walk with God. What that means is that God's life, His love, His peace, His joy, His compassion, is NOW part of who we are and as we submit ourselves to Him, the Holy Spirit empowers us to be more and more like Jesus. That's the part of LIVING that I didn't understand for many years of my Christian walk; that I didn't have to survive on my own anymore because the Holy Spirit was IN ME to HELP ME live the Christian life. Sometimes forgiveness is easy. But sometimes it is very, very hard, especially when a person we loved and trusted has betrayed us. We might say we forgive someone, but then painful memories replay in our minds, and it is tempting to wallow in resentment again. When this happens, we might wonder: If I still feel the pain, and I don’t trust these people anymore, did I truly forgive them from my heart? If I’m tempted to resentment, did I fail to forgive fully?

The story is thin. It is about a single mom angry with her dad because he wasn't around when she was young. Erin holds onto this hurt much harder than the movie ever explains adequately. She does say something about looking at her dad having a good time with her daughters and it makes her jealous, but that doesn't come until after she has chilled her dad out to about negative 10,000 degrees for much of the movie. This woman is bitter. It's even stranger because Stephanie Bennett is upbeat with everyone else and seems pleasant most of the rest of the time. The full and essential nature of love we may not understand, but there are tests by which it may be recognized. Understood this way, confession is not something over and above “believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Confession is the daily manifestation of faith in Jesus, a daily living out of recognizing Him as Savior, Master, and Treasure, a consistent exhibit of the Gospel of God’s grace.As Christians, we carry a message of hope, joy and love everywhere we go. CBC Trustee, Chris Cole challenges us to highlight the importance of forgiveness this Christmas, especially where God has given us a platform to reach many people via media. Jesus is our example of offering forgiveness to those who have sinned against us based on our love for God. “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” ( Luke 23:34). When he found out I was someone who could bear a grudge he used to say to me: 'We mustn't give ourselves permission to act like that, Mo.' And I thought Alan would forgive them. It's Christmas Day. I didn't want to carry the anger, all that destructive anger, in my life. My family said they felt I'd helped them with the way I choose to deal with it. That's what matters in the end. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9) I was born the year she was crowned Queen and have always admired her sense of duty to her vocation and the courage with which she bore her own personal ups and downs in life, especially family life. It is often said the Christmas Season can be a trying process for families coming together, when old grudges and broken relationships are experienced. “Aunty Joan just can’t stand the husband that her sister married 30 years ago because she was offended by something he said at the wedding”.

As Ephesians 2:8 explains, we are saved by grace. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”Even though we freely receive God’s gift of forgiveness,we often feel justified in holding onto unforgiveness towards others. But being unwilling to forgive reveals whether or not our hearts have truly been transformed and created as new creations in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17) And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And then, from the weakness and humiliation of the cross, with barely enough oxygen to breathe, he spoke that forgiveness into another longing soul. One of the criminals beside him said, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong. . . . Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:41–42). Forgive me my sins. And with one of his very last breaths, Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Has the possibility of forgiveness ever been clearer? Has the wonder of forgiveness ever been more blinding? From the just nails of torture to the just reward of paradise in just one sentence — forgiveness. The late Queen carried the burden of knowing more about the world than her 15 Prime Ministers, Armed Forces and Secret Service all put together in the 70 years she was sovereign. As a human being she went through all sorts of pain; family breakups and massive pressure, but every Christmas shared that her anchor and foundation was in her personal, experiential relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the best gift for the world right now!

Kindliness, Mercy, Forgiveness

And that’s exactly what the church did. When wind and fire came down from heaven at Pentecost, what did the apostle Peter say? “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38). Remember, Peter had tasted the riches of God’s mercy firsthand — “I do not know him. . . . I do not know him. . . . I do not know him.” And when, later, God sent him to the centurion to finally and fully welcome the nations into the church, what did he say then? “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43). And when Paul boldly stood in the synagogue in Antioch, telling Jews to repent and turn to Christ, what did he say? “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you” (Acts 13:38). The whole city gathered the next week to hear more. Could this forgiveness be true? The theme of the novella is clear from the title - A Christmas Carol - which refers to the traditional carols that are sung at Christmas time. When the last of the ghosts has left and Scrooge finally awakes on Christmas day, we are shown a new man. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”