About Forgiveness

   

     There is so much anger, outrage and divisiveness in the public square these days that it seems a good dose of forgiveness is in order. Not just at the public level either, although it is greatly needed so that our common atmosphere can be cleared up, but also there are often private harms that need forgiveness.

The freedom to be renewed...

In my mind, a good stroke of forgiveness brings with it the freedom to be renewed, to begin again. My simple formula is this: Forgiveness equals freedom; unforgiveness equals bondage because if there be in us any small or large corners of unforgiveness, we are bound to these until and unless we can release ourselves and the problem people or circumstances through forgiveness, regardless of what they may be. Whether it be a small slight or the most heinous crime, bondage still applies to that which is not forgiven.

The Law of Cause and Effect...

Are we hesitant because we think someone will “get away with something?” Perhaps we should remember that the Law of Cause and Effect always obtains. Some years ago a friend of mine lost her husband to a neglectful driver who carelessly ran into his car and caused his death. Somehow my friend found the wisdom in herself to forgive the driver his terrible error and thus freed herself---and the driver---from an ongoing bond of hated and anger. This did not, however, absolve him from the results of his negligence, and he did spend time in prison.

A change in thought and action...

What is before us through forgiveness is a change in thought and action which only the freedom of forgiveness brings. Hatred, rage and resentment can be replaced by the infusion of love and light which enters when the darkness of unforgiveness moves on. There is nothing magic about this, only the elevating lift that comes through a diligent practice of forgiveness!

Can we even imagine how inspired a mind can become once it is truly freed through the choice to forgive!

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