Retired Pastor Pat Duffin
14-Jul-21

“I will never forgive that miserable ‘so-and-so’ after what he did to me! Not only will I never forgive; I will never forget. And for sure, I will never let him forget either.”

Have you ever had a conversation like that with yourself? Most of us have. And we have felt totally justified for thinking and feeling that way. The hurt and harm inflicted upon us was just too painful and damaging to simply dismiss the offence as a small mistake or inconsequential thing.

Some of us have been deeply wounded and even scarred for life. That is when forgiving someone gets difficult. We know we are in the right; the other is clearly in the wrong, and the offence is too serious to just shrug off.

What are we supposed to do?

Does God really require us to forgive? How often? What if this person is continually wounding us and others? What if they are truly toxic? What if they are pure evil? Surely, we do not have to forgive under those circumstances!

For those of us who want to follow Jesus, to live and love as He so freely did, we have no choice. It is God’s will, and it is in keeping with the character of Jesus Christ.

Even if we, too, are confronted with hurt that might parallel the physical and emotional pain that Jesus suffered, we are obliged to forgive as freely as He did.

This item is reprinted with permission from the High Prairie, AB, South Peace News. For the complete article, click HERE

If you wish to comment on this story, click HERE for the Discussion Board at TheRegional.com/AlbertaChat.com