Forgiveness…and Fixing Broken Relationships

One of the huge questions that always comes up on the issue of forgiveness is…does forgiving someone mean that you should be good friends again?  In our relationship with God, he offers us forgiveness, but there is no reconciliation without repentance.  And sometimes we are never restored, in this lifetime, to what we once enjoyed.  You could see it like this; forgiveness—always.  It’s not optional for followers of Jesus.  Reconciliation, living in peace—hopefully.  But it takes two to make it happen.  Restoration—where everything is as it was before?  It’s the rarest of the three—and it depends.  See, you can’t earn forgiveness—but you must earn trust!  And trust is hard to earn…but unbelievably easy to lose!