Who Deserves My Forgiveness?

Earlier today I was reading a book to Punky Jr. about forgiveness.  Of course we talked about what it means to forgive and that we are sinners and Jesus has forgiven us. Yes, I know she is just 3.5 months old but it is never too early to train up a child in the way she should go. Her daddy and I want to give her a firm foundation.

Thinking about the story lead me to think about today's post. What did I want to say about forgiveness? I have been thinking long and hard since we read the story. On the 7th anniversary of my rape I was finally able to sincerely say "I forgive you for what you two did to me, for how it totally changed my life. For the fear, pain, and angst. I forgive you."

It took 7 years to get there. Yet, so much freedom has come since that day. Forgiveness is not for the person that hurt us. Forgiveness is for us. It helps us put the wrong in the past and to continue on in love. Refusing to forgive is a sin and it hinders our relationship with Christ.

I also remember one night saying "God I know you did me no wrong. You have loved me perfectly, you have saved me, and I am in your book, and someday I'll get to see you. Yet, for years I have carried around this pain because you didn't keep me from harm, you let me go through it. I will never totally understand why, but I am going to accept that you have my best in mind, and I am going to move on." God certainly doesn't need my forgiveness, He didn't sin and do me wrong. He does need my understanding and faith, and that is what that night was about. Telling God that I understand that while I can't see the whole picture, I have faith that he has my best in mind. He is orchestrating events to increase his kingdom, for his glory.

I also learned on those nights that if I can forgive my rapists, if I can learn to accept God's ways even when I don't understand them, there is no one I shouldn't forgive. Everyone deserves my forgiveness because we are all beloved children of God. He wants us to treat each other with love, no matter how much we've been hurt, no matter how big the betrayal. Even small things need to be forgiven. That is one of the lessons Jesus was teaching us on the cross.

If Christ can forgive us, shouldn't we who claim to be his followers, who claim to love him, shouldn't we be quick to forgive and shouldn't we want to emulate our King, Master and Savior???