West Pines Community Church

We know that forgiveness is a good thing. Everyone loves a good story of how two people reconciled their differences and came back together to form an even stronger relationship. It’s the stuff of a good Hallmark movie. But in real life, forgiveness is messy. We know we are supposed to forgive people, but how do we trust again? How do we forgive and not put ourselves into a position to get hurt over and over again? There is a fascinating hidden nugget in the story of Philemon. It is where we get a window into Paul’s own relationships. And through those, we learn that there are different components of forgiveness: Release, Reconcile, and Restore. Knowing these aspects and learning how to apply them to different situations, helps us navigate the messiness of forgiveness.