to forgive

Growing up, I had forgiveness explained to me a lot of different ways.

One was simply that God asked us to forgive, so we should. This is a good reason. Sometimes we do things just because God said so; we don't need a reason, we just trust Him. But it's not very convincing to me.

So another reason offered is, how can we expect forgiveness if we do not extend it ourselves? Jesus said,

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." {Matt. 6:14-15, NKJV}

In the Parable of the Unjust Servant, Jesus teaches me that I can't expect God to forgive me if I withhold forgiveness from others, and reminds me that I have been forgiven a much greater debt than I can ever imagine. I owe Jesus Christ such a huge debt, and He frankly forgave me. How then can I withhold forgiveness from my fellowman, for such a pitiful debt in comparison? "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?" {Matt. 18:33, NIV} C.S. Lewis wrote,

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgive the inexcusable in you." {“On Forgiveness” from The Weight of Glory}

I have done so many incredibly stupid things in my life, yet still I hope that I will be forgiven. Can I expect that God will forgive me, and not them? If I believe that I can change and be forgiven, then I have to believe that everyone can do the same; that nothing is outside the scope of Christ's infinite Atonement.



Still another reason to forgive comes out of realizing that Jesus has already forgiven them. If Jesus Christ - who personally suffered to pay the price for their sins - can forgive them, then can't I? Or do I think myself greater than Jesus Christ. Do I imagine that my hurt is somehow worse than what Christ suffered to pay for the sins of all the world? Never. I've been hurt and I've been wounded, but nothing more than what the Savior has already suffered. He knows and understands how much they hurt me, and He can take away that pain. He also knows that I will be unhappy until I forgive - that's why He commanded me to do it in the first place :) If I claim Him as my example, then I should strive to forgive as He did.


For me though, the reason I forgive is because of what I believe about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus literally took upon Himself all the sins of the world. When I stand before God to be judged, Christ will say, "Father, she wasn't perfect. But I was perfect. I suffered and died for her, so that she wouldn't have to pay the price for her mistakes. She's tried her hardest, and she's done everything I asked her to. Therefore, for my sake, let her into the Kingdom of Heaven. For my sake, offer her forgiveness."

I believe that when Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, He took upon Himself their sins too. Everyone's sins - not just mine. When I withhold forgiveness for something someone did to offend me, I'm not really withholding it from them - I'm withholding it from Him. From my Savior. From Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for me. How could I ever do that? When I imagine my Savior saying to me, "For my sake, won't you forgive them?" there is nothing to think about. Of course I will. There's nothing to forgive, nothing I wouldn't do for Him. It's just automatic. I love Him.


That is why I forgive. Not out of a sense of duty, nor out of a sense of fear or obligation, though that is certainly part of it. I forgive because I love Jesus Christ, and I love other people.

When I feel hurt and betrayed and hateful towards someone, I have tried to do as Christ admonished - "love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." {Matt. 5:44, NKJV} It is difficult, but it works. Pray for the Love of Christ to fill your heart till there's no room for anything else, and He will. He wants us to love each other, and to be understanding and forgiving. Corrie ten Boom, a victim of the Nazi concentration camps, said this:

It is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself. {Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place}

Love is at the center of my ability - and even my desire - to forgive others freely. Love of God, and love of others. No wonder those are the two great commandments He gave us :)