I have written about forgiveness in my book, Unshackled. The most distressing story I have heard of unforgiveness involved the account of a lady who said her mother hated her and left her a note when she died telling her how much she hated her. Her brother intercepted the letter so his sister did not read it.
Forgiving is not an option for the believer who wants to seriously follow Christ. He does not give us the choice to forgive or not to forgive. In fact our forgiveness hinges on our forgiving those who have wronged us. It is included in the Lord’s prayer; forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
When we forgive we release God to do His restoring work with the other person involved. We step from between God and the person. Forgiveness frees God to act on our behalf. We put the situation in God’s hands, and when we forgive in this way, we feel the release of a heavy burden, which brings us peace.
See my brochure on Forgiveness for further thoughts.
© Peggy Park
