CHOOSING FORGIVENESS: THE FREEDOM TO LET GO IS IN YOUR GRASP!

Forgiveness is not for the faint of heart.  June Hunt, the author of this Bible Study, candidly declares, “There is no shame in the struggle to forgive.  The struggle is real.”  Having said that, she also points out that while forgiveness is not easy, nor does it come naturally, forgiveness is a decision, not an emotion.  More importantly for believers, forgiveness is not an option.

It’s a commandment.

This 6 – Session Bible study meets all the expectations that one would desire from a high-quality curriculum.  I was impressed and encouraged with the sections that covered the expectations of the Bible Study, and the notes to the student(s) and the leader(s) that set the tone for a successful, interesting, and motivating Bible study on the topic of forgiveness.  I was especially excited to see a clear, concise, and decidedly un-apologetic presentation of the plan of salvation in the opening pages.  Too often this presentation is placed at the end of the Bible study, and its position there provides the opportunity to treat it as a kind of afterthought.

With great open-ended questions that really get the ball rolling, Scripture passages that are central to the topic (not just “proof-texting,”), discussion questions at the end of each session and suggestions for concrete application, I just really feel like June Hunt hit the ball out of the park with this Bible study.  Another exciting feature that one can anticipate is “Fill-In-The-Blank” sample prayers related to the topic of forgiveness.  I’ve printed one off and have it hanging on my study wall, even as I’m writing this review.

June Hunt uses the testimony of Corrie Ten Boom as a backdrop for her study sessions, and I’m not going to steal all of her thunder, but I can’t help sharing the final conclusion that Corrie Ten Boom arrived at when faced with the challenge of forgiveness:
"When Christ tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself."

Corrie Ten Boom

What better invitation to explore this difficult topic of forgiveness?

Rose Publishing has provided me with an advanced reader copy of this published work.