Forgiveness and Restoration Part 1
Aug 28, 2022(Trish) have been thinking about this post for months. It’s a post that’s been on my heart but somehow the words to write it never come to mind. Yesterday at Cross Point our pastor Pete gave a message on forgiveness. It was like he had read into my heart and mind and put words to all that I have been thinking.
At least once a week if not more, I receive heartbreaking emails from women who have found out that their husband has had an affair. Many of these women are married to pastors. Their emails are often soul crushing and filled with anguish as reality sets in that their marriage is falling apart.
It seems commonplace to hear about Pastors or Christian leaders being caught in adultery or having a pornography addiction. Just writing those words evokes some intense debate about grace and forgiveness. Then there’s restoration. Christians and the church as a whole are so divided on what is or what isn’t “true” restoration that most people wave the white flag as if to say, “I give-up.”
Pete spoke on the parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:23-33. In this parable, Jesus paints a picture of a servant who owed a great debt to his master. The master chooses to forgive the servant’s large debt completely! The servant then returns home only to demand that one of his servants pay him back in full the small amount he was owed.
There is much to glean about forgiveness and restoration from this parable. There’s so much I want to share but can’t fit it into one post. So here are the thoughts I have been wrestling with and will be writing about over the next few days….
1. What is forgiveness and why is it important?
2. What is restoration in the context of marriage and ministry?
3. Why is it crucial for forgiveness to come first so that restoration can come later?
4. Why is it essential for restoration to have a price tag?
What we have come to learn is that before the affair, our understanding of forgiveness was incomplete. Our belief in restoration was limited. Our hope is that this week, we unpack forgiveness and restoration in a way that brings wholeness and hope to your heart.
