[Pastor Ralph]

Q4. (Ephesians 4:32) Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us? According to Ephesians 4:32, who is our example of forgiveness? What heart attitudes toward people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to verse 32a?

[Commissioned]

Q4. (Ephesians 4:32) Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us?
It so difficult to forgive those who hurt us, because we want the other person to feel the pain too, emotionally. And again, we don't forgive because we don't think they are sorry for what they have done or we don't think they deserve to be forgiven. But the bottom line is, misunderstanding forgiveness.

According to Ephesians 4:32, who is our example of forgiveness?
We are to forgive just as God forgave us in Christ.

What heart attitudes toward people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to verse 32a?
A forgiving spirit comes from a person with a kind and compassionate heart.

[cct1106]

It is difficult because we are imperfect and by it (hurting) being a normal reaction you tent to forget about forgiveness. Our example of forgiveness is God. He gave his Son for us. Heart attitudes should be kind to one another, tenderly compassionate. All each of us have to do is remember the perfect example of God and Jesus Christ. God's Son sacrificed his life for us because of love and for each one of us to be forgiven for the sins we inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve.

[Eudora]

Q4. (Ephesians 4:32) Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us? Because hurt has been in our creation for a long, long time. When Adam and Eve committed sin and sin entered the human race through the mouth, it was the mouth that would speak into existence every unkind word that would hurt our fellow man. It hurt God to see this happen and as a result, God had to hurt again by coming to the earth in the form of flesh and really take upon Himself, all hurt, all pain, all bitterness, all strife, all sickness, all disease, all of God’s own wrath was burned into the flesh of Jesus so that God’s anger could be set free from us. His vengeance, now that is something entirely different. He will repay evil for what evil has done.

Make no mistake about it. God has feelings, if He didn’t we would not be made in His image because we have feelings. When God’s first born creation of humanity sinned against Him by being disobedient to His commandment to not eat of the tree of good and evil, the tree that once was good and had turned to evil… , well the children that were born to the first couple, , the same appeared in them. Able was more than able to carry on the tending of the garden because He sought to please The Lord, but Cain, who was born of evil, was more than capable of evil and that is what He did. Jealousy raged with in him and he acted on that rage and killed the one who was Able. Has anyone ever noticed that neither of those children is listed in the genealogy of Adam in Chapter Five. Think about that and ask God to show you why that is. You will be amazed…

According to Ephesians 4:32, who is our example of forgiveness? God , who through Christ Jesus, The Anointed One, forgave us….. Not is going to forgive but has already forgiven. Isn’t that so beautiful? All we had to do was ask for forgiveness, it was always there waiting.

What heart attitudes toward people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to verse 32a? A kind and tender heart, one bent on pleasing The Lord.

Father I agree in this prayer with our pastor Ralph... we so much want to walk in your cleanness. Forgive us for our sins. Change our ways so that they bless you rather than grieve your Spirit. Help us to put on, as clean clothes, "the newself, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."Grant it for us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

[Ken7]

My natural instinct is a prideful response which tells me, "I cannot forgive them, that hurt too much." -or- "I can forgive them, bit I will NEVER forget!"

Christ forgave me of ALL my sin and He is such a great example, I forgive them and release them from any indebtedness.

[PCHRIS]

This reminds me of an line in an old song, 'Oh Lord its hard to be humble when your perfect in every way'.
Pride is probaly the reason [for me] why I find it hard to forgive some people. So coming to God with humilty and asking Him for the strength knowing, 'I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me', this helps me in understanding that I need to forgive otherwise it will just fester into worse things.

Jesus Christ is our example.

To be kind and compassionate.

[June]

Because we don't think they deserve to be forgiveness. But we must remember that Jesus forgave us for our sins. Did we deserve it???No!!!
By being kind, compassionate and forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave us.
Follow Jesus, do as He does( emulate Him) make Him your role model. Put on that new self, be righteous and holy as is Jesus.

[kiqstart]

Q4. (Ephesians 4:32) Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us? According to Ephesians 4:32, who is our example of forgiveness? What heart attitudes toward people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to verse 32a?


Because we have a hard time forgetting what was done to us, and we don't want it to happen again.

Jesus Christ

We should be in prayerfor the ones that have hurt us

[masika]

It is easy to ask for forgiveness but difficult to grant it others , whenever we ask God to forgive us for sin , we should ask , Have I forgiven the people who wronged me ?
God forgives us not because we forgive others , but solely because of His great mercy , As we come to understand His Mercy , howeve , we will want to be like Him. having received forgiveness we will pass it on to others.
Those who are unwilling to forgive have not become one with Christ , who was willing to forgive those who crucified Him. ( Luke 23:34)

[JustJeff]

When we are in the flesh, our carnal self, we have a tendency to be hard hearted, not able to forgive.
The Lord God is our example by His Son's atoning sacrifice. He is faithful to forgive us if we petition the Son.
By verse 32 we should have kindness, tender heartedness and forgiveness as part of our character. That is a refection of our attitude.

[ElizabethTX]

Q4. (Ephesians 4:32) Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us? According to Ephesians 4:32, who is our example of forgiveness? What heart attitudes toward people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to verse 32a?

Forgiveness takes courage and practice. I have learned to give forgiveness without attachments and conditions. People do not have to earn or beg for forgiveness. You must give it freely and automatically. It is the only way to free yourself of the bondage that destroys your peace and joy with God. The emotions of unforgiveness are so posionous to our minds and emotions that if we are unable to reach the level of forgiveness that God requires, it will affect every aspect of our lives and cause our spirits to be consumed with hatred and regret. You will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in you and you will not be able to go about the business of doing God's Work. The fruits of the Holy Spirit will cease until you are able to overcome your unforgiveness.

God is our example. Forgiveness is a gift and it is difinitely "more blessed to give than to receive." Remember that our forgiveness from God is tied to our forgivenss of others. God does not remember transgressions when we have asked for His forgiveness and neither should we. Not only forgive someone, but ask God to bless them. It releases people from the mistakes of the past, so if they choose to do so, they can put on "clean clothes." I must admit that it is difficult to follow God's example when you are dealing with a repeat offendor. You must set your boundaries with these people who know you have a forgiving spirit or they will take advantage of your "easy going ways." Sometimes you must withdraw from a person, but do it with love and forgiveness in your heart. Shake the sand off your sandals when you leave them and go on about the business of doing God's Work.

We must be strong and take responsibility for our own actions. In most cases when there are petty problems, it is rare that it is entirely one person's fault. But in cases where something terrible has happened like murder, God please grant us the strength to forgive and put it Your Hands. Bless our enemies.

Peace and love, God bless and protect. Amen!

[BJB123]

Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us? Answer: Maybe we feel that the person who hurts us does not mean it or maybe you always forgive them and they contintually hurt you. Maybe we feel they do not deserve to be forgiven. We must forgive.
Who is our example of forgiveness? Answer: God is our example of forgiveness.
What heart attitudes towards people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to vs. 32a? Answer: Being kind and tenderhearted, compassionate are attitudes of the heart that is evidence of a forgiving spirit.

As I stated above, we must have a forgiving heart. Sometimes we do not feel like forgiving someone, but then we do it anyway because of what is in our heart.

[charisbarak]

Forgiving those who have hurt us is hard because the hurt is ever before us.

Jesus is our example of forgiveness. He died for us so God would forgive us through Him.

You have to will yourself to forgive--knowing that God is behind you 100% & in His power you will be able to forgive. What a freeing act this is. We find that our unforgiveness does nothing to get to that other person--what it does it jail us--sometimes causing illness.

Heart attitudes of those who have forgiven are kindness & compassion.

Lord, help me to really forgive & love others.

[Helen Williams]

No one likes to be hurt or even dissappointed. We feel when we are hurt, we want the person responsibe to hurt. In order to get it right you have to be in Christ and have an understanding of what true forgiveness really is. Even then it is hard. We have the flesh and the spirit at war. The flesh just wants to get even, but we know this is not about the other person. Forgiveness is about self and being able to move on.

We may feel the person does not deserve our forgiveness. There may be time we might say they have not even earned my forgiveness. God's forgiveness can't be earned, but he forgive us freely. He is the ultimate example of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

We have to have love for people, a giving heart, be Christlike and have compassion.

[Lisa Rupert]

Q4. (Ephesians 4:32) Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us? According to Ephesians 4:32, who is our example of forgiveness? What heart attitudes toward people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to verse 32a?
It is so difficult for me to forgive when I am in SELF. When I am lead by the Spirit, I am compelled to forgive. So I try to remain humble denying the Self of it's lust for pride of it's arrogance and thirst for self righteousness. For my flesh seeks worldly treasures, it seeks worldly desires, and it craves for unclean things.
The example given to us by Paul is that God is a merciful, loving & All Forgiving God. And we should follow this example with love and compassion to forgiving not because someone has appologized or because someone has seeked the forgiveness but we should forgive because our father freely forgive/forgave us our sins. The price that was paid for this forgiveness was a hefty price, where our Lord and Savior on the cross bore all our sins, and in the process asking the father to "Forgive them for they know not what they do". Now this is the ultimate forgiveness and no one had to do a single thing to receive it. We didn't have to perform deceitful works to receive this forgiveness and we shouldn't expect to receive these kinds of works when forgiving others of their inequities.

[haar]

We find it difficult to forgive because we probably believe that the person does not merit forgiveness. We should however always remember that forgiveness is just as grace is, unmerited! God loved the world and sent His one and only one Son to die for our forgiveness even while we were dead in sin. We too should forgive with the same attitute.

From what I have just said, God is our perffect example of forgiveness. Jesus, being God, forgave those who crucified him saying that they did not know what they were doing!

Kind and tender heart attitute is the pre-requisite for forgiveness according to Ephessians 4:32a.

I pray that God will give us the grace to exhibit kind and tender heart attitute and humility so that we will love and forgive all the time no matter how the other person hurts us.

[Stan]

Q4. (Ephesians 4:32) Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us? According to Ephesians 4:32, who is our example of forgiveness? What heart attitudes toward people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to verse 32a?

Because of our human nature and the idea that we are right the other person is always wrong we can't or won't forgive.

"Be kind18 and compassionate19 to one another, forgiving20 each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (4:32)
We are to forgive as Christ forgave us when He said God forgive them they know not what they do.

We need an attitude of love, you can't love some one and not forgive them for anything that they may do to you. We need to show the knid of love that Christ show us in giving us the unmerited favor of Grace, a forgiveness that we don't deserve but was given because He could and because He loves us so much. It is only that kind of love that can't truly forgive.

[linda bass]

Sometimes it is difficult to forgive someone because we want them to pay for what they did to us.
Or we feel that they don't deserve to be forgiven.
God is our example of forgiveness. Just as He forgave us our sins, we should be willing to forgive others.
Jesus willingly forgave those who had nailed Him to the cross, so we should willingly forgive those who have wronged us.
In fact, by refusing to forgive someone, we are declaring ourselves better than God.
Those who have a forgiving spirit are kind and compassionate.

[sis. dee]

Q4. (Ephesians 4:32) Why is it so difficult to forgive those who hurt us? According to Ephesians 4:32, who is our example of forgiveness? What heart attitudes toward people are evidence of a forgiving spirit, according to verse 32a?

I think why it is so difficult to foregive is because of our pride and I also think that we put too much trust into that person. God is our example for giveness.