Tag: End Times

Much has been written about forgiveness, because forgiveness is often harder than it looks. And we can’t always change how we feel, fortunately for us, forgiveness is not about how we feel, but about what we choose to do.

Family hurts, friend hurts, fellow Christians who are killed or who suffer for their faith… And perhaps hardest of all, forgiving a hurt when anger is truly justified.

Sometimes the only way to forgive someone is to recognize that it’s a choice. I love the story that Carrie Ten Boom told about forgiveness. Someone had hurt her badly and she kept a letter that they had sent that proved their guilt in that particular matter. She had thought that she had forgiven that person, but then realized that by keeping that letter-she had not. And so she threw the letter away. She chose to let it go. She chose to forgive that person, even though she was clearly justifiably hurt and angry.

There’s something else that may help us, if we remember. It’s a tough life. We may encounter someone who is having their worst day (or worst season lol) and they may behave badly, sometimes very badly. But I would hate to be judged for my worst day, and only for my worst day. Because let’s face it-we all have bad days. And if we want others to have forgiveness and compassion for us, we need to give it to others as well.

Lastly, there is something else than can help us to forgive. If we remember that Jesus not only forgave us, but He died so that we might be forgiven. I don’t know about you, but I know I look at myself and at my own sins and wonder that some one, any one, could love me that much!

And at the same time, I can’t help but think that if Jesus forgave me, how can I not forgive another?