John 20:23 · World English Bible
John 20:23 Meaning If You Forgive Anyone’s Sins
If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.
What does John 20:23 mean?
To release another from an old wrong is to release the mind that has been carrying it, for guilt is never held in one place only. A mind that looks on someone and decides to overlook what he seems to have done frees itself in the same instant, because the accusation it lets fall was its own.
From the Christian Psychology reading below.
John 20:23 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Christian Psychology
CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY
Christian Psychology
To release another from an old wrong is to release the mind that has been carrying it, for guilt is never held in one place only. A mind that looks on someone and decides to overlook what he seems to have done frees itself in the same instant, because the accusation it lets fall was its own. And a mind that keeps the charge alive keeps itself bound to it, seeing the fault outside while feeling the weight within.
This is the whole of forgiveness. Nothing is done to the other and nothing is taken from the world. Whether guilt stays or goes is settled entirely by the one who chooses how to see.
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Live John 20:23 today
- Think of the grudge you rehearse in the shower, and try one honest round of not telling that story. See how your body feels without it for ten minutes.
- With one person you have been quietly keeping score against, let the score go unmentioned today. Be ordinary and warm with them and see what that costs you, which is probably nothing.
- When someone cuts you off in traffic or writes a short email, skip the reply you were composing in your head. You can put the charge down right there, in the car, at the desk, and the rest of your afternoon changes.
Who are you still holding something against, and what has it cost you?
The same truth in other traditions
Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius
Holding anger about what someone did punishes you, not them. Drop the grievance and you discover the weight was yours all along.
Buddhism
Carrying resentment is like gripping a hot coal to throw at someone. The burn arrives long before the throw.
Sufism · Rumi
The hand that refuses to let go cannot be filled. Release is not a favor to the other person, it is how you get your hand back.
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