People say, “Trust is as fragile as glass”, but I say that “trust is only as fragile as the giver makes it”. So which is it?

There are very few things in this world that can be taken as pure fact. Many things must be taken on faith for us to even function properly in everyday life. You form opinions about almost everything you take in. For an example; I like pizza. I do not like Twizzlers. I prefer art to sports.

In everything that we are taught, we decide whether we agree or disagree and whether we like or dislike.

Is trust a concept that takes forever to build, but will never truly be finished, and always be fragile? Or is trust’s strength dependent on your decisions and opinions? Can you forgive and move on, or must everything be questioned?

People say that I am too trusting. But I’ve seen the good in those deemed hopeless and that, to me, is worth, not just the risk, but the times that I’ve had my heart broken by those same people and others.

I know this person that has a hard time trusting anyone. They trust so little to the point that they can only call three people “friend”. This person holds that word in such a higher regard than it ever has for me. Friends are those close to you. The people that you can come to and talk to. Some people have a few, and others have a few more. But that doesn’t make them wrong or too trusting.

But the “answer” to repairing broken trust? Forgive. It’s only one little word, but some people go their whole lives without ever understanding what it means.

Now, I may not know everyone’s situation, but I do know that Jesus forgave me. And some of you may be thinking “I get that He forgave me, but it’s hard to forgive others!” Or “What that person did is unforgivable.” Or maybe even, “They don’t want my forgiveness.” But what we’ve done, and continue to do, is unforgivable.

The thing about forgiveness that we always seem to forget is that the person being forgiven doesn’t have to take it.

Colossians 3:13 "Bearing with one another and if, one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

We are not just asked, we are commanded to forgive each other. But once we forgive, that does not mean that things go back to the way they were. They may not even accept your forgiveness, but we are only to offer. And just like with your relationship with God, when you mess up, you have to work to get back in His “good graces”. With God, we are given a second chance, because with Him, the sin and deceit in our hearts can be taken away. With our earthly relations, there may not always be room for second chances, but there is always room for the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Yes, Jesus loved us SO much that He DIED for us- to forgive us- but we don’t always take it. There are those of us that reject the forgiveness offered to us. Our job is to forgive. It doesn’t matter what someone else does- that doesn’t define our success as a Christian.

What defines us is how often we behave like Jesus. How often do you let yourself be humiliated or spit on in the name of forgiveness? In the name of Jesus.