Peter didn’t know what he was getting into when he began a relationship with Jesus. He enthusiastically declared his loyalty. He seemed to want to remain faithful in the face of coming trouble. Yet – he denied Jesus three times. Facing his failure was devastating. But then Jesus came along side and declared forgiveness to Peter – three times (see John 21). Jesus illustrated the forgiveness – he did it creatively and imaginatively. The relationship was restored.
Most of us don’t really know what we’re getting into when we enter relationships – especially in marriage. To preserve those relationships, being able to forgive is absolutely critical. There’s going to be stuff that needs to be forgiven. To help our forgiveness to be more effective, we need to imaginatively approach all aspects of it. When seeking to restore relationships, creative showing of forgiveness rather than simply telling makes such a difference. Words are important – but other elements can be added to the message of forgiveness. Those added elements can align with whatever we say. When we creatively and imaginatively add to our words, our message of forgiveness becomes so much stronger.
Todd Rivetti 