Forgiving someone who has really hurt us by what they have said or done is one of the toughest things to go through in life. Some people can let go more easily than others. But either way, I believe that without God’s grace it is impossible to forgive others. We can’t do it alone.
But through Jesus’ life. He showed us the way. Though He was God he lived on this earth not as God. But as man! He was tempted. He was betrayed. He cried. He got angry too when those merchants disrespected His Father’s temple. In other words, he went through everything like any other human. Pain, sorrow, heartaches and everything. And yet, in spite of it all, when they demanded that Jesus be crucified, He asked our Heavenly Father and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing…” Luke 23:34. These are the same people he comforted, healed, encouraged and offered salvation and promised “eternal life.”
Here’s a great article from “The Word Among Us” about “forgiveness.”
“Go first and be reconciled with your brother.” (Matthew 5:24)
Friendships are a lot like fine porcelain. They are a real treasure that can be easy to break, but difficult to mend.
We all know how painful it can be to experience a friend’s betrayal or rejection. It’s one of the most difficult things a person can endure. That helps explain why it can be hard to forgive someone who has hurt us deeply. In some cases, in fact, this failure to forgive can do more harm than the act that initially hurt us. If left alone, wounds like these have a tendency to fester and grow larger and larger.
This is one reason why Jesus commanded us to forgive. He knows how much damage unforgiveness can cause. Yet at the same time, he doesn’t underestimate how difficult this call can be. After all, Jesus himself endured the betrayal of a close friend. Imagine how he must have wept over Judas! Still, Jesus urges—he even commands—us to forgive, to be reconciled, and to let go of past hurts. He went so far as to say that the degree to which we can forgive one another is the degree to which we will know his Father’s forgiveness (Matthew 18:35).
There is simply no way around it. We have to forgive. It may sound too demanding, but that only happens when we lose sight of Jesus and the mercy he has had on us. He has a storehouse of love to make up for our lack. He can help us when our hearts are hard or bitter.
Oftentimes, forgiveness happens over time and in gradual layers— and Jesus knows that. He is not as concerned with whether we have forgiven everyone completely as he is concerned that we keep our hearts soft and ask him for the grace to be a bit more merciful each day. So take one more step today toward being reconciled with your brothers and sisters! Let the love of Christ fill you so that you can give that same love and mercy to all the people in your life.
“Lord Jesus, only you can mend broken hearts and heal wounded souls. Make me whole by the power of your Spirit. Give me the grace to forgive.”
So through Him – through His grace we can do the same and ask the Heavenly Father and say, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing…”
For “by His Wounds We are Healed….”
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