It's very easy to become weighed down in the hurt and pain of a betrayal, a wrongdoing. You want the other person to feel the heartache they caused, to feel what you felt.
I was faced with this just this last week. I was angry and confused. And for a couple of days, all I could think about was the anticipation of them feeling the darkness that they caused me to feel. But one single moment of clarity in a prayer, A God moment, stopped me from using that anger destructively....
The cross. If Jesus can forgive me when I've turned my back on Him, when I've lived in the world and tried to pretend He didn't exist, when I've hurt others....if He could forgive me for every one of my failures, how could I not give this person the same extravagant gift? Forgiveness.
Are we not human? Are we not allowed to make mistakes? The thought of making someone live a life bogged down in guilt just seems so wrong. Jesus says when we ask for forgiveness, it's gone. We don't have to worry that He'll take it back, that He'll make us pay for it later. Even in His final moments on the cross, "Forgive them..." is what He uttered. If He could forgive us of our sins and pay the penalty for our failures by dying for us, I can surely give something as simple as forgiveness to a fellow human being.....to give them the opportunity to start fresh and learn from their mistakes and move forward.
So that's the gift I give....freedom through forgiveness. And I'M free because of it....free from anger. Free from bitter resentment. Free from betrayal. By forgiving, I've given them and myself the freedom we both need.
So, today, forgiveness is the gift I give. How about you? Who's ready to let go, to give the gift to someone who doesn't deserve it, but desperately needs it?
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