Discipline, certainly, is needed to keep our loving straight, but not fear; for discipline is an expression of deeper love, it is a going-further, but fear is a drawing back ... Just as the enemy of faith," says John Davies, "is not doubt but the repression of doubt, so the enemy of grace is not guilt but the repression of guilt." Forgiveness sets us free from the repression of guilt, free to be guilty if in fact we are guilty, free to be guilty if it is necessary to become guilty.
This can only be true if forgiveness is continuous, not a past transaction but a ceaseless flow of loving acceptance. Breathing that atmosphere, not only can one forgive, but one can also dare to take the blame, just as Jesus did.
John V Taylor "The Go-Between God" p 173
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