I think we can all agree that we live in a broken world that does not function the way that it should. People hurt other people and it just doesn’t seem right. When we feel hurt by another person, what is our initial reaction? I think a lot of times we want them to feel what we feel; we want them to take a walk in our shoes. We want to get them back for the hurtful things they said or did to us. However, we can learn from Christ what the correct response to hurt in this world is – forgiveness.
Forgiveness can be a pin to the balloon that is our pride. Forgiveness requires letting go of the hurt feelings that we have in order to love someone the way Jesus calls us to. Let’s be honest – forgiveness can be hard sometimes. If we feel the hurt deeply, we could actively push away from the idea of forgiveness. We feel that we deserve justice. I have found that one of the hardest people in my life to forgive is myself. I hold myself to a standard of perfection that is completely unattainable, and when I make mistakes, I can’t let myself live it down. If we reverse the situation – if I hurt someone or if I was the person who had done wrong by someone else, even if I reconciled the relationship with the person and they have forgiven me, sometimes I can still hold on to that guilt. I need to be as willing to forgive myself as others, and I need to forgive as God has forgiven me for the sinner that I am. “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).
God gave up his one and only Son to die on a cross for us, so that we could be forgiven, even when we constantly turn our backs on him. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). God forgave us when he had no reason to. We constantly make choices that are against him. We choose so often what does not please him. We desire things in our lives more that God, yet his forgiveness is always on the table.
When Jesus was living on this earth, he was not treated with the respect he deserved. He was treated as less than because of the things he said and did by the people around him. “He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care” (Isaiah 53:3). Yet, he still willing went to the cross so we could be forgiven of our sins. He knew that we could not earn that forgiveness on our own and he needed to be the one to do it for us. Even when he had been tortured and beaten, dying on a cross being an innocent man, he asked for the forgiveness of the people who had turned against him. “… ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’” (Luke 23:34). Jesus says this to the Father on our behalf as well when we sin again him, and if we are willing to humble ourselves and ask for his forgiveness, he will always provide it for us. “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9). If the perfect God of heaven loves us so much that he is willing to forgive any transgression, shouldn’t we be just as inclined to forgive others and ourselves?
Are you holding on to hurt? Who comes to mind when you think of forgiveness? Pray for that person and your relationship with them, and ask God to help you take the steps toward forgiveness. Do you know of anyone you may need to ask for forgiveness from? Pray that God would help you take the steps toward asking that person for forgiveness. Take some time to thank Jesus for coming down and being born to grant us the forgiveness that we did not deserve, and focus on who you may need to forgive or ask for forgiveness from, even if that person is yourself.
“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13).
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