Forgiveness can be a powerful
catalyst for change, benefiting
anyone who hopes to let go of the
past. People often sees Christians as
weak simply because we obey the
teachings and principles of Christ which is based on forgiveness and
love. Forgiving others may seem to be a
choice, and in one sense it is a
choice, but God has been very clear
about forgiveness. He has given us
specific direction in numerous
Scriptures, all of which can be summed up in just one word --
forgive! God's Word says, "And when
you stand praying, if you hold
anything against anyone, forgive him,
so that your Father in heaven may
forgive you your sins" (Mark 11:25). "Do not judge, and you will not be
judged. Do not condemn, and you will
not be condemned. Forgive, and you
will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37).
It doesn't mean that you have to
become friends with the person who's injured you. Forgiveness doesn't mean that
wrongdoing is ignored or condoned It doesn't mean that feelings of anger
and bitterness magically go away. It doesn't also mean that you trust
someone again just as you trusted
them before. It doesn't mean that you won't be hurt
again. Forgiveness can be very, very hard
especially if the injury someone has
done us is deep and lasting, the
feelings of hurt and anger might keep
coming back. We often assume when
Jesus told Peter to forgive 77 times that he meant 77 separate offences –
an extreme way of saying that there's
no limit to the number of times we
ought to forgive. But maybe he's also
acknowledging that there's no limit to
the number of times we might have to forgive the same offence. What has
been done to us keeps coming back:
the memory of injury or betray rises in
our minds again, for the second or the
10th or the 50th time, and each
recollection requires a fresh act of forgiveness. But for Christians, forgiveness is
more than setting aside revenge and
more than just moving on with our
lives. We aren't just called to forgo
revenge against our enemies, we're
called to love them. Loving forgiveness is an intention. Resolving
not to take revenge is at best neutral.
Resolving to follow in the footsteps of
Christ, who even when he was dying
on the cross prayed that God would
forgive those who crucified him, involves a movement of the heart
towards the other person – and that
isn't possible without the work of the
Spirit within us to transform us into
the likeness of Christ. But forgiveness, at whatever level,
has to be free, or it isn't real.
