At the very heart of Christianity, is the concept of forgiveness. Forgiveness for ourselves, forgiveness of others, and forgiveness of ourselves.
We are aware
that God forgives if we are willing to repent – change – and ask for
forgiveness. It is hard for us to understand how God does this. It is like God
erases the tape that contains whatever we are asking to be forgiven. It simply
ceases to exist.
The reason
that is so difficult for us to understand is because it is so hard for us to
forgive others. Betrayal hurts too deeply to be forgotten. Slander causes us to
thirst for justice. Physical harm, theft, the list is long, all these are hard
for us to forgive.
Yet, we often
pray the Lord’s Prayer, saying the words “. . . forgive us as we forgive others
. . .”
A very wise spiritual
director once wanted to teach a student about forgiveness. The student was
instructed to place a 5 lb. sack of potatoes in her backpack and carry that
around with her wherever she went. As you can imagine, not only was it a cumbersome
burden, but it didn’t take long for the potatoes to rot and begin smelling
terribly!
When the student complained, the wise teacher told her that is what it like to stubbornly refuse to forgive someone else.
Good lesson.
But perhaps
the hardest lesson for us to learn is how to forgive ourselves.
Imagine you
are in a canoe on a lake. Each time you remember something you have done wrong,
you put a large rock in the canoe. How long would it take to swamp that canoe?
Well, our
journey through life is much like being in a canoe, caught in the storms of
life, with a canoe full of regret! It is not only not safe, but it prevents us
from being able to sail through the storm and enjoy life as we were meant to.
Practice
forgiveness. It is easy to ask God for forgiveness. It is harder to truly
repent. It is even harder to forgive someone else. But don’t forget to forgive
yourself!
May God bless
you and smooth your journey,
Doug
Forgiveness lifts so much off you
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