Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.
Pride, ego, self-righteousness and evil motives hold onto resentments and grudges.
Wisdom, intelligence, generosity, compassion, and patience see beyond shortcomings in others and trust the right idea to prevail.
Spiritual sense wastes no time groveling in self-pity and woe-me complaint. It is quick to forgive and move on.
The heart of forgiveness
https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/2gmd1mrs0e?s=e
Thank you for this profound article Martine. If we could all study, understand, internalize and practice the truths in this article we would see a world transformed. No offender no offense and no offended one, as God created none of these. We can only be offended by the false belief that some power or force can come in and take away our good. Lots to ponder here.
❤️
Thank you Evan for a differant perspective. Martine beautiful article hits it right on the head, thank you.
As first reader, I soon discovered that when the subject of the readings was about forgiveness, there was the most active engagement and honest, deeper, meaningful testimonies, and more of a sense of people willing to do their work and grow. It seemed that a topic on love, or grace could be defended against as self-righteously abstract and theoretical and self-contented to them without them digging in like forgiveness requires.
Forgiveness challenges personal sense and liberates us. Forgiveness is the proof and activity of love and grace and courage. To the degree we forgive, is the proof that to that degree we understand, and are humble and honest. We know that we’ve not completed our lessons and work assignment with any issue that comes to thought if we have not responded with empathy and compassion for each involved that leaves no sense of harm or resentment, separation, or hierarchy. We know that we forgive when we sincerely feel gratitude for the opportunity to really examine and correct our thinking and behavior, so that we only feel and demonstrate love, inspiration, and grace.
Until then, we have to keep digging more deeply in our practice of Christian Science. Feeling neutral, or numb or in the head or indifferent or distracted is not adequate. Thinking about having differing or favored teams or nations or socioeconomic classes or us versus them is a wake up call to change that. It’s a call to be forgiving and generously loving, of real service that blesses.
When we know that we have only had lessons and blessin’s, for cherishing each individual and situation in our life as a gift for us to be our true self free of thinking, anyone is a victim or victimizer, but humanly acting from fear/pain/ignorance so that we feel empathy and commitment to help them by disciplining our thought to only see them and us as always perfect, spiritual. And acting from that with magnanimous all-forgiving/gracious loving gratitude, and joy. If I’m not feeling that, it means my assignment and liberation is calling me to forgive.
Thank you Evan.How wonderful it is to be counted amongst God’s chosen ones. It is a privilege being a Christian Scientist. We bless God. Loving one another fervently makes us see the need to forgive anyone who hurts us in the twinkle of an eye.. Thank you Marine for the article on forgiveness.
Loved the article Martine. Thank you very much. I’m going to share it with a loved one.
Trying to see everyone in the perfection of God’s Love is so needed in the world
today. I echo what Rose from New York said that if we did, we would “see a
world transformed.” When we hold a grudge, even if we have been seemingly
wronged and feel it is justified, we are only hurting ourselves, as the saying goes.
But if we truly see Everyone as God’s children, including ourselves, there is no
room for resentment or grudges. And sometimes it is “… the human yielding to
the divine; love meeting no response, but still remaining love”. (S&H pg.586:24).
Other times this Love is so felt, there is no question that the ‘loveliness of Love
is all around.’
Thank you Evan. And thank you Martine for the wonderful article – it’s a keeper! Another article on forgiveness that came to thought:
“Why forgive? by Arno Preller:
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/3vcpffsxj4?s=copylink
Thank you very much “J” for giving us this article from Arno Preller, who explains his experiences during the Hitler time in Germany, and how he handled hate against the Nazis and learned from his father, a wellknown CS practitioner and teacher her in Germany , how to forgive and even love them. Well, this article gives me a lot. as well !
Uta. Danka.
Thank you Evan. And thank you Martine and J for posting these powerful articles that encourage the self examination and purification of thought that lead to a higher realization and expression of divine Love.
“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
Thank you Evan and Martine. And “J” the article by Arno Preller is wonderful. That certainly is a keeper for me!
Thank you J for this wonderful article ! a keeper for me too!
Thank you Evan. We can never be reminded too often of the need for forgiveness of others and ourselves! And thank you to everyone for your wonderful comments today.
In the CS Bible Lesson this week is this sentence from pg 482 of S&H:
“As used in Christian Science, Soul is properly the synonym of Spirit, or God; but out of Science, soul is identical with sense, with material sensation.”
I’ve read this statement numerous times over the years but today I took the time to really think about what is meant by “soul” (lowercase ‘s’) being identical with “material sensation”. Recently in other study I’ve done it came to me how Mrs. Eddy refers to “material sensation” as a “false concept entertained in thought” versus how the rest of the world thinks of material sensation as “truth” perceived through material bodily “sensors”. Being aware of material sensation as a “false concept” allows us to disregard anything this material sense concept suggests that is contrary to our understanding of God and God’s manifestation…God’s idea…man (everyone) and the universe and the laws governing everything harmoniously.
Whenever I’m reading the lesson and come across a citation for which I feel I need to get a better understanding, I go to JSHOnline and search for the text of the citation in articles. The articles shed light on the citation in different ways that help me to understand the meaning of the citation better. This morning I came across the article accessible via the link below that fits in with today’s topic and also expands on the subject of the Bible Lesson this week of Soul. So I thought I’d share it with everyone to further the discussion regarding how we are able to forgive as taught in Christian Science.
Solving Personality Problems by Carl Welz
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/2231olo9j46?s=e
Thank you RH for sharing your thoughts and the article! I really liked, “Being aware of material sensation as a “false concept” allows us to disregard anything this material sense concept suggests that is contrary to our understanding of God and God’s manifestation…God’s idea…man (everyone) and the universe and the laws governing everything harmoniously. In relation to forgiveness, I will think of this when I am tempted to be negatively influenced by a reactive thought (“false concept”), as in feeling offended, hurt, etc. by another. I’m also reminded of a comment made by Maggie, “When you refuse to react, you have destroyed the bridge over which error/evil can reach you.”
Thank you RH. It’s good to know that others search for articles to help with clarification
Thank you Evan, Martine, and J. This topic is very timely for me.
Our Asst. Committee on Publication meeting tonight includes discussion of the Values in the “How do you see the World?” exhibit in the Publishing Society in Boston. I had been thinking of Forgiveness as one and the lesson on Truth has been helpful:
“Truth, through her eternal laws, unveils error. …
… Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God’s own way, and let human justice pattern the divine.”
(SH 542:7–8, 19–21).
Last month we had discussed that at a time when CS’s + were taking legislative bills misusing Science to court and losing, Alfred Farlow, COP, wrote a letter that said to avoid perpetuation of the wrong (and calling attention to it, thereby giving it reality), we should work to amend the bill. I see this as a form of forgiveness and letting Truth do it’s work to eliminate the error.
Thank you all for your comments and insights.
All very helpful – Evan, comments from everyone, and inspiring articles. Many thanks to all.
Thank you veryone – Evan, commenters and great articles – all very helpful.
(I just posted this and it didn’t seem to work – so I hope it doesn;t come through twicew.)
Thank you Evan, for this very loving SpiritView! It matches with the Bible story of Esau and Jacob in this week’s lesson sermon. In the end Esau forgave Jacob for robbing him his blessing through their father Isaak.
Through the article, Martine gave us today about Forgiveness, one can see how very important forgiveness is for healing in Christian Science. Thank you very much Martine!
And thank you also RH and “J” for your articles which I am looking very much forward reading it later. Here it is 10.30 pm presently and nearly sleeping time.
I am very very grateful for the comforting and healing SpiritView and for all your very helpful and so lively comments!♡
How to cope with long term emotional, mental and physical damage resulting from family abuse? I’ve found these effects can’t just be buried under ‘forgiveness’ since this can lead to further damage. One can ‘refuse to react’ on the surface, but then the hurt and damage may be buried in the deep and hidden recesses of the unconscious from where it unexpectedly erupts.
In my experience superficial Christian ‘forgiveness’ can lead to abusers getting off the hook and victims/survivors not experiencing the deeper healing needed.
As you can probably tell I’ve had a hard time forgiving over several decades. I’ve found that yes, genuine forgiveness heals, but can involve a major, major surrender to God (over and over again) as well as removing oneself from harm’s way. The Arno Preller article posted earlier is SO helpful- thanks for posting it ❤️
Thank you Pee, I agree to what you state in your comment here. If somebody hurt me, I can forgive on the surface, but the problem might not be fully healed within me. some times ago I had to deal with such seeming problems. My thoughts then were, to pray to love, love, love them. Later I could love them and then I could also forgive truely. I am so very grateful for every little or bigger healing – God is Love and heals!
Thank you, Evan. This message was most timely for me as I was carrying a grudge against a person who had left me without a dinner reservation on Valentines Day. I wrote an email, more of a “nastygram”, but didn’t send it. Now I know that Fad does not want me to do so and I forgive the person against whom I held the grudge, Than k you