Love and forgiveness

I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12).

As important as forgiveness is, many are reluctant to accept it. Forgiveness is a gift, an act of grace. Forgiveness is neither earned nor deserved. This bothers many people. For some it is about wounded pride, because they don’t like the idea of being treated as a charity case. For others it is about shame—they don’t want to be forgiven until they’ve earned it somehow. Such people don’t understand the beauty of forgiveness or appreciate its value.

Forgiveness is an investment in the future. It draws people together in gratitude, making relationships deeper and stronger. Forgiveness is an act of trust. It presses the reset button on relationships, erasing the pile of guilt and resentment that put up barriers between us.

“To err is human, to forgive divine.” These words are not found in the Bible, but they are nevertheless true. How often have you struggled with forgiving and forgetting? Forgiveness is hard; forgetting is virtually impossible, it seems. We are the sum of our memories; our souls are crisscrossed with emotional scars that have never healed properly. Those old wounds make us slow to trust. And how can you say that you’ve forgiven someone if you don’t trust them any more? Forgiveness is supposed to restore broken relationships—but without trust, the relationship stays damaged.

“To err is human, to forgive divine.” Only God is capable of truly forgiving and forgetting. He says, I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. We need Christ. We need the Son of God to show us His undeserved mercy, so we can be pardoned for our sins and find peace in heaven when we die. We also need Jesus to help us to forgive as He has forgiven us. Forgiveness does not come naturally to sinful hearts and darkened minds; we need God’s help to set aside the hurts of the past for the sake of love now and in the days to come.

Forgiveness is the ultimate expression of long-lasting love. Forgiveness is anathema to our selfish tendencies. It is only through the power of Christ that we can experience the wonderful miracle of forgiveness, which binds us together in God’s eternal love.