Why I Forgive

Some inspiration from our Lord on this matter of justice. Certainly an oppressor owes a great debt. Impatience to see retribution enacted upon him is ........inappropriate. Vengence belongs to the Lord. Debts accrued are owed to Him alone, to whom belong all things. Not to anyone else belongs the role of spiritual accountant. Is there anyone else who knows, better than Him, how to collect genuine repentance? Having our own agenda, apart from His will, causes us to resist the implementation of what is best for everyone involved, namely those things that He already has in mind.

If we hold on to the could-have-beens, cling tightly to the SHOULD-have-beens, we miss the transition to the hope that God has provided. We give up the blessing of God's ministry of reconciliation. Forgiveness is the vehicle that brings about the rebirth, like the tamarack pine that sheds it's foliage in wintertime. Only when we eject the dead detritus of unworkable passions, during the cold, barren time of pain, can we then burst out with new growth and extravagant beauty of the kind most precious to God. It is the birth of grace towards others.


Make no mistakes here. Only the mentally strong can possibly forgive. It is not a field of play where the weak can participate. That is why God makes sure we get plenty of practice. The strength required is spiritual, and this one act uses the most of it and matures us the most. Why? It goes against our natural desires, against what everyone is telling us to do. It even makes us look weak. Yet,"My strength is made perfect in weakness", says Jesus.

You see, all those traumas, all that anguish past bearing, will become a gift that blesses. Shed the blindfold on a hardened heart and see that, one day, He will let us understand that these things were allowed to happen for our good and His glory, and that we will thank Him and praise His holy name for just these very things.

When we forgive, we bring that day closer. When we forgive, we participate in His ministry of reconciliation. We become a part of the spreading of the message. We become the message, like Jesus is. Standing beside Him, we will rejoice with Him and be satisfied when everything is completed.