When Forgiveness Feels Like a Last Resort
I am blessed that I don’t have too hard of a time forgiving people—it’s forgiving myself that I typically struggle with. Yet many people find forgiving others a struggle, and but for the grace of God I might be in their shoes.
Jesus stressed the importance of forgiveness when he remarked, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
We have to forgive, and forgive entirely. When something is forgiven, it is not a weapon to be put in one’s back pocket to be drawn at a later time against the trespasser.
“A forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note, torn in two and burned up, so that it can never be shown against the man.” —H. W. Beecher
Forgive people. Why should you have to cling to the bitterness of resentment? Sure, forgiveness doesn’t erase the crime, but why should you do the time? Forgiveness might not make the other person better, that’s true, and it’s a necessary risk. But forgiveness does something crucial: it lets people get past their past so that they can be a better person.
What are your thoughts on forgiveness?
