The Gift of Forgiveness

I was talking to my friend Rusty some time back and he was telling me about how they had a guest pastor come to speak at his church. This pastor shared that when he was three years old, his dad left home and he didn’t see him again for something like thirty years. When he finally saw his father, his father wanted a relationship. The pastor realized that he had been carrying all this deep anger and resentment for thirty-something years. It felt like the weight of the world. 

Maybe you know what that’s like – to carry that hurt and anger around. Maybe someone you loved or trusted hurt you or disappointed you. On one level or another, we all know what it’s like not to want to forgive. We all know what it’s like to want to get revenge – to get even. So many of us carry so much around.

The guest pastor at my friend’s church said he forgave his father, but only by the strength God gave him. He went on to say that as hard as it was, it turned out to be one of the best things he had ever done.

If you think about it, the real point of forgiveness isn’t other people, is it? It is about us. It is about all the hurt and pain and anger and bitterness that we carry around with us, stuff that eats us up inside. I don’t want what someone else did to me to control my life. I want to be free. I want to be alive. I want to be healthy. Sometimes we just think that by holding onto all that – we’re showing them! But really, who are we hurting? 

At the very heart of the gospel is forgiveness. That’s what the cross is about. That’s how God has dealt with us. And the truth is when we set other people free – we are really setting ourselves free. 

Let us pray: Merciful God, We have heard the Good News that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. While sometimes we accept this forgiveness, other times we do not. Sometimes we are able to forgive others, but sometimes we hold fast to old grudges, hurts, and fears. Sometimes we feel unable to forgive – even ourselves.

Have mercy on us, O God. Help us today to let go… Help us to accept that we are accepted, and to forgive as we are forgiven; that new beginnings may be ours through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.