An Introduction to Forgiveness

Remember last week when I said there was ideas rattling around my head?

Well, here's the start of those ideas, and it's on the subject of forgiveness. Some of my previous posts the last couple months have discussed the idea of mercy and grace, particularly as God gives his forgiveness to us.

But us giving forgiveness to others, now there's the rub. Because with all due respect to Tom Petty, forgiveness -- not waiting -- is the hardest part.

I guess this all started with a sermon on the Unmerciful Servant a couple months ago. Read it for yourself in Matthew 18.

Here's the short of it. This is the parable Jesus told after Peter asked how many times he should forgive those who sin against me. Peter suggested a generous seven times, but Jesus said, 'How 'bout 77' or 'How 'bout 70 times 7?' -- depending on what translation you read. Then Jesus told the story of a servant who begged his way out of a monstrous debt, then threw the man who owed him just a little in prison when he asked for the same mercy.

Just in the last few months, I've heard stories about a preacher in India who was beaten but kept responding with love until her converted his torturer, a lady whose husband was murdered visiting the murderer in prison and gave him her husband's Bible -- counseling him until he was converted or the Jewish girl who was experimented on in Auschwitz and finally met one of her captors then wrote him a letter granting forgiveness.

Spectacular displays of love all ... yet I can't get over my annoyance with the guy a few cubicles down, I refuse to speak to that person who was once my friend and I reserve my best biting sarcasm for that neighbor that rubs me the wrong way.

Heck, I hold grudges against restaurants where I got poor service, against the bag boy that doesn't know that a loaf of bread and canned goods don't mix ... and I certainly won't forget that time the cat or dog chewed up something that wasn't a toy.

We are astonishingly good at withholding forgiveness. Granting it? Not so much.

So in the coming days and weeks, I hope to explore some stories, movies, TV shows, life examples, etc. of forgiveness and how meaningful it can be. Stay tuned, there may be some hope for us yet.