Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32
To live in a spirit of forgiveness is hard for some of us. I can forgive the person who cuts me off on the highway; I can forgive those who are rude and obnoxious in public; I can forgive family members for their lack of sensitivity because they were running late. But how do we forgive those who hurt us so intensely that the instant the hurt occurred, life changed forever? We live in a world of hurtful divorce, devastating layoffs, malicious gossip, and even just petty exaggerations. How do we forgive at those times? What do we do when someone hurts our child, bullies us, uses us, lies to us, especially when it’s the very people who we trust to be honest and supportive?
When Jesus told His Disciples that one of them would deny and disown Him three times before the rooster crowed, they refused to believe. Their love and loyalty to Jesus wouldn’t allow them to believe this prediction. But isn’t that what happens in an injury to our emotions? When someone lies to us, gossips about us, bullies us, they have caused injury to our heart. They have denied and disowned us for an instant. As much as Peter loved Jesus, he still betrayed Him repeatedly. Yet Jesus returned and forgave Peter. Peter had denied Jesus three times; three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him to which Peter answered, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” With these words Jesus reinstated Peter as one of His dearest and strongest Disciples.
Even when we love our friends and family members, there are still those all too human moments when betrayal occurs. If we demand they repeat, “I love you” three times, has forgiveness occurred and has our broken heart instantly mended? I think forgiveness takes a bit more time and patience on all sides. But I think saying “I love you, I love you, I love you!” is a nice starting point.
God’s unconditional love for me guides me to offer that same love and forgiveness to others who stand in need of my forgiveness. My goal today is to offer forgiveness where I have previously withheld it.
Sherry L. Pemberton, Receptionist
