Every good relationship consists of two people who are good at forgiving. When we live with others and do life with them, we will have to forgive offenses, whether large or small, in order to have joyful, fruitful connections. All of us have people in our world who can be challenging at times, but we need to release them to God. Whether a roommate, spouse, best friend or colleague, Jesus’ forgiveness is a great, great gift. Learning to be like Him means learning to have a merciful response to everyone you do life with. God has forgiven you for all of the stuff you’ve struggled with — addiction, sin, mess-ups and shortcomings — and now, He looks at you with pure love. Because He loves you so much, you have the power to love others and to choose to forgive them anytime they cross the line and hurt you.

There’s no such thing as an easy relationship; in fact, the closer we get to a person, the harder it becomes to love them. That’s why maintaining meaningful connections requires hard work, learning, patience and most importantly, lots of forgiveness. As you learn to be a forgiving person, you will have more joy, love and laughter in your life. Plus, you will sleep better at night knowing you’re at peace with the ones you love!