Forgiveness Patch ~ 4

Forgiveness: the renunciation or cessation of resentment, indignation or anger as the result of a perceived offense, disagreement or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. (taken from Wikipedia which also cited the following) The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as 'to grant free pardon and to give up all claim on account of an offense or debt'.


To ask if you had ever been hurt would be a silly question. Everyone in the human race has experienced hurt in one form or another from people they know or even people they don't know. Often it is the ones that we hold dearest that hurt us the most. 


I know it hasn't always been easy for me to forgive. I have been hurt by those I know and by strangers throughout my life and have sometimes held onto that pain for years. When I was about 10 years old, I had a dog that I loved dearly. His name was Nikki. He was a brown and white  St. Bernard mix. I had grown up with him, in fact I couldn't remember a time when he wasn't there. We lived on a country road in Missouri and people loved to fly down the hill in front of our house. Well one night a young man was out joy riding on our road when my dog Nikki was out. I don't know if he didn't hear the car coming because he was getting older or if the man in the car was just going to fast, but Nikki wasn't able to get out of the way in time. 


I was absolutely crushed when my parents told me in the morning. And I HATED that man. I have to say that 28 years later I still have to tell myself to think kind thoughts about that man. But it doesn't matter if that man was going to fast and being careless or if it was an accident, because I "hated" him I need to ask for forgiveness, but in order to do so I need to forgive that man even if he has never and will never ask my forgiveness. 


It doesn't matter who has caused us pain or how they have caused us pain, we must be willing to forgive them even if they aren't willing to ask for forgiveness or have unknowingly hurt us. 


There are two examples I think of in the Bible of forgiveness being given before it is asked, the first one is when Stephen was being stoned to death. The Bible says:
 "While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep." Acts 7:59


The second example is when Jesus was hanging on the cross and He said:
"“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”" Mark 11:25


Peter and Jesus discussed forgiveness one day:
"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Matthew 18:21-22


I know it is hard to let go of the pain that people cause us sometimes, but Christ has forgiven us and expects the same of us in fact He said it very plainly in Matthew 6:15:
"But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."


Jesus loves everyone of us and wants us to be with Him forever. He can forgive you if you but ask.