This blog has frequently mentioned the need for grace for our enemies (, , , ) and others. My mother always warned me that whenever I point an index finger at anyone (), there are three other fingers pointing back at me! So a lot of my reasons for blogging on this theme so often is that so often we . . . I . . . need it! Charles Spurgeon once said, “If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him, because you are far worse than he thinks you to be.”😳 Thus, the apostle encouraged us “not to think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:3)
Forgiveness is not needed for someone who has not intentionally offended.
To forgive is defined as “to grant pardon, cancel a debt, cease to feel resentment, to give up all claim of accounting!”
I knew a man who was owed quite a few hundred dollars by another who had borrowed and damaged some equipment. A payment against the damages came the first month, late the second, and then excuse after excuse . . .
“I’ll get the next payment to you . . . soon.”
Another friend advised him to write a letter telling him the debt was forgiven in hopes that the offender would feel such guilt that he would promptly repay what was owed. But after writing the letter, he told me he could not hold onto the offense anymore. What his advisor had intended as a deceit to make the offender feel guilty in fact worked a miracle of grace in his heart! When the offender approached him to offer to resume repayment, he had to decline. He told him, “As I said in the letter, I have forgiven you in Jesus’ name. You do not owe me anything anymore.” That’s what it is to forgive!
So before you get mad at the driver who is tailgating you, why not just let him pass? Before you develop a grudge against a neighbor who throws their dog’s dung on your side of the fence, why not give them a container on your side of the fence in which to put it? And when they throw it beside the container, why not just pick it up for them? Instead of carrying that load of anger at that relative who insulted you in front of the rest of the family, can you find it in your heart to pray FOR them, asking Father to show them mercy? Think of that one who lied to you or about you, who cost you that promotion, who cheated you out of some money, who disappointed you so cruelly.
And with three fingers pointing back at me, I suggest that you forgive. It will not be easy, but oh, the grace and joy that will flow in your innermost being when you feel God’s love pouring through you to them. Enjoy it . . . until the next time you need to forgive . . . then do it again.
Here are a few more thoughts I have collected over the years about forgiveness. Apply the ones you need today:
- As C.S, Lewis noted in The Weight of Glory, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
- “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.” Martin Luther King
- “It’s definitely not forgive and forget. There are some things I will always remember, but forgiveness changes the way you remember.” Chris Conlee, Love Works (a movie)
- “Forgiveness begins by your giving the offense to the Lord.” Paul David Tripp
- “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you!” Lewis B. Smeades
- “We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive.” William Arthur Ward
- “Jesus calls his followers to sacrificially turn the other cheek. Jesus puts no cap on the limits of our forgiveness — 70 x 7. We can’t use another’s sin as an excuse for our own.” Ed Stetzer
- “Remember where we stand, by meaning our words when we say in our prayers, “Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us.” We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it is to refuse God’s mercy for ourselves. There is no hint of exceptions and God means what he says.” C.S.Lewis
- “Regret cannot change your past; worry cannot change your future. Only forgiveness can change your past; only trust can change your future.” Steve Elliott
- “If we love Him, we obey Him. Forgiveness is an agonizing act of obedience, but after the agony we see grace flow, restoring what was broken. God can then continue to use us in His Kingdom work.” Jane Pappenhagen
- “The Christian life begins and continues on the foundation of forgiveness, not on a promise of protection and help in a difficult world.” Dr. Larry Crabb
- “Lord, forgive me for listening to the news and getting bitter and angry at the lost, forgetting that these are people who are deceived by the enemy of their souls.” gavin duerson
- “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” Ghandi
- “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a great idea, until they have something to forgive.” C.S.Lewis
And from some sincere hearts who have been forgiven:
The Spirit's Call 