Divine Forgiveness
Suppose you have a child who hits a baseball through a window, breaking it. If you take the ball away and cause the child to do some form of labor in order to pay for replacement of the window, that teaches consequences. If you explain that you know the act was done out of not realizing what might happen, instruct the child to play where the ball can be hit safely, and pay for the window yourself, that shows forgiveness. A wise and loving parent decides which is called for (or what kind of combination) in a given situation.
As we get older, moving into and through adulthood, we come to more fully understand the struggles our parents faced while raising us. We better appreciate their efforts, sacrifices, and pain. With this increasing understanding, we also better appreciate the joy and love they found in helping us grow. Knowing of their disappointments gives so much more meaning to knowing of their pride. If our relationship with our parents is healthy and strong, we know their worry and anguish over past issues has faded away while their love has remained. Our parents have forgiven us our childhood wrongs and relate to us as the adults we have become.
Just as God's presence can be either incidental to your being or consciously invited and actively lived out, the same can be said of God's forgiveness. Consciously receiving Divine forgiveness is part of a mature relationship with God. It comes from inner reflection and from communication with God. We need only know what it is about and have a willingness to receive it in order for it to be ours. Alternately, and sadly, we can also push it away.
As this forgiveness comes directly from God, we need no one to intercede and no particular religion in order for us to receive it. However, how we come to our reflection, understanding, communication, and acceptance may differ from one person to the next, and this may involve the aid of another person or of further, specific beliefs. It does no good to debate the validity of another's inroad. What matters is that we get there. Let us not be distracted by such debate and risk missing the point.
We are designed as imperfect beings. Maturity and responsibility demand that we not be complacent about our motives, intentions, and actions, even in light of this fact. But we are not ultimately blamed for being as we were made to be: unable to live a full, entire lifetime without any missteps whatsoever. We have all erred, and we will do so again, even despite our best efforts. Often enough, it is because we are not trying to put forth our best. This is also part of our human frailty. A loving God who is our Divine Source understands this. For this reason, forgiveness is a gift to us. It cannot be earned or bought. We cannot bribe for it. We certainly cannot cause it to be withheld from others because of our own judgments and prejudices or for any other reason. We can reject and deny it or we can accept and embrace it. And that choice is completely up to us.
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