Ben Pasley has written an article at Churchthink.com on the basics of forgiveness called Forgiveness: The Way of the Kingdom.  You can read it online here. It is a very simple introduction to the basics of forgiveness.

Find the podcast of the article, a discussion between Ben Pasley and friends on this very article at iTunes…subscribe!

Download the PDF: forgiveness_the_way

Here is an excerpt of the beginning of the article:

“The Kingdom Leads with Forgiveness

This phrase from Matthew 18 begins with a drum roll…“the kingdom of heaven is like!”  It is the announcement that what follows will be profoundly impactful in our present journey as kingdom people.  It is not a future statement, it is a present statement.  Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom, and so, when we hear “the kingdom of heaven is like” it demands all of our attention and all of our commitment to see and to believe.  I often insert some casual phrases like “this is the way it really is,” or “this is how the family works” in order to help the parable come to life in my present walk.  Forgiveness is the Way of the Kingdom.

Who can offend me?

Let’s start our discussion of forgiveness by asking, “who can offend me?” Well, I propose that anyone from whom we expect anything–at all–has the power to offend. This definition of offense means that those closest to us, and closest to the needs of our heart will have the potential to offend us the most…” You can read the rest online here.