Confession and Your Relationship with Him
What makes it easy to confess to someone? Empathy? I'd rather be known than feel shame?
How someone talks to you after you have hurt him can be impactful for future relationships, influencing how you may respond to him, what you believe about being a strong or weak man/woman, and your view of God.
What to do after Forgiving Someone
2nd Corinthians 2:5-11 states, "Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs."
Let's say you've been hurt by your friend. He asks for your forgiveness and you forgive him; then you bring up some insecurities to him, thinking these may be tied to why he hurt you. This is hurtful because instead of forgiving and comforting, you are forgiving and bringing up more. When you do this, you push away the person instead of reconciling.
Forgive Comfort and Love Him
I love what Paul says, "Forgive and comfort him...reaffirm your love for him." Even if you are right about the connection to this person's insecurity, talk to him about it another day. Focus on comforting, more than bringing up more things.
Relationship Counseling in Fort Worth
Relationships can be difficult, easy, confusing, and comforting. Cowtown Christian Counseling in Fort Worth provides relationship counseling and therapy from a Christian Perspective.