WHY WE MUST FORGIVE?
My friend’s
unkind comments cut me to the bone. After many years of close friendship, she
lost her temper, accused me of things I didn’t do and blasted me with an
onslaught of hurtful words.
She crossed
every boundary of decency, respect and friendship, and the more I replayed her
careless and caustic words in my mind, the more furious I became. I felt
miserable and decided to have nothing more to do with her. “She doesn’t deserve
my forgiveness,” I told myself repeatedly.
I shared my
painful experience with another close friend. She listened to me and then
surprised me with her advice.
“Denise,”
she said. “You need to forgive her. You don’t want to live your life with the
weeds of unforgiveness and bitterness growing in your
heart.”
“Forgive her?” I cried. “She intentionally hurt me! Why should I let her off
the hook and forgive her? She needs to suffer just like she has caused me to
suffer!”
“You must
choose to forgive her, Denise, even though she purposely hurt you. If you
decide not to forgive her, you’re the one imprisoned in the past, not her.
You’ll suffer, not her.”
She then reminded me of the Apostle Paul’s wise words to the Colossians: “Bear
with each other,” he wrote, “and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13, NIV).
“‘Whatever grievances’ covers just about everything,” my friend told me, “even
the hurtful words and actions of a dear friend.”
It took me some time to think, pray and study God’s Word about forgiving those
who purposely hurt others. But I finally chose to forgive my friend. It wasn’t
easy, but I knew it was necessary. During that period, I made some fascinating
and surprising discoveries about biblical forgiveness.
What
Must I Do?
Forgiveness is essential, even in the absence of an apology. Jesus provided the
supreme example when He forgave those heartless people who nailed Him to a
cross, sneered at Him and watched Him die. They never apologized to Jesus. Yet
forgiveness was genuine and complete on Jesus’ part when He prayed the words:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34,
NIV).
My friend had injured me with her words and accusations. She owed me a debt
because of her disrespectful behavior. But when I chose to forgive her, I
canceled that debt. I decided to no longer hold her responsible for the pain
she had caused me. Fortunately my friend apologized and accepted my
forgiveness, but if she hadn’t apologized, the act of forgiving on my part
would still have been genuine.
I didn’t need her apology in order to forgive her. I could forgive her without
ever hearing the words “I’m sorry.” Her willing apology graced my heart, but it
wasn’t necessary to my forgiving her.
Four
Little Sunday School Girls
Carolyn Maull McKinstry
chose to forgive the members of the Ku Klux Klan who planted a bomb in her
church on Sunday morning, Sept. 15, 1963. Carolyn, then 15 years old, had just
spoken to her four friends in the basement restroom of the
In her book, “While the World Watched,” Carolyn writes: “I know that because of
the way Christ has forgiven me, I have no option but to forgive others who have
intentionally hurt me and those I love.”
Carolyn knew that unforgiveness poisons the heart.
The resulting bitterness can pollute the soul. Unforgiveness
breaks God’s heart and interferes with intimate communion with the Heavenly
Father. Believers in Christ do not hold grudges. Carolyn’s forgiveness has
since enabled her to sow seeds of reconciliation and love around the world.
Holocaust
Survivor
Nonna Lisowskaja Bannister, a young Russian Christian, suffered
the loss of friends and family when German armies invaded her home in
Nonna chose to forgive those who purposely tortured
her, killed her family members and caused her such great suffering. In her
secret diaries, she wrote her eyewitness account of the Holocaust, her love for
God and her family—and her forgiveness of Hitler. Nonna
kept her diaries hidden for a half century until they were published in 2009 by
her husband, Henry, with Nonna’s blessings. In her
book, “The Secret Holocaust Diaries,” Nonna notes
that forgiveness requires “much generosity and wisdom.” Her forgiveness enabled
her to live a life of compassion, love and Christ-like generosity toward
others.
Acts of
Obedience
Forgiveness
begins by recognizing evil in all of its horror. We can forgive without denying
the reality of the evil and hurt we suffered at another’s hand.
We can also forgive those who hurt us without condoning or excusing the
offender’s hurtful act. Forgiveness doesn’t brush aside the hurt, nor dismiss
it. We must choose to forgive anyone who wrongs us.
Our forgiveness is not predicated on our understanding why the offender hurt
us. We may never understand the cruel actions of people like Hitler or the Ku
Klux Klan, but we can still choose to forgive them.
Feelings have nothing to do with the willful choice we make to forgive others.
Surely the Apostle Paul didn’t “feel” like forgiving when his offenders stoned
him, tried to kill him and threw him into prison. Even in his pain, he could
write: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as
in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32, NIV).
And we can forgive our offenders no matter how horrible the crime against us.
Some crimes are so heartless and inhumane, we may even wonder if God Himself
expects us to forgive.
Why must we forgive those people who hurt us or those we love? Because God, in Christ, has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32), and
because Christ commands us to forgive others (Luke 17:4). So, for me to
grow in Christ, I, too, must obey His Word and continue to forgive. God
requires nothing less.
By Denise
George