A Lovely Idea

C. S. Lewis said, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”

A study on forgiveness found that 75 percent of those polled believed that God forgave them for past sins. But only 52 percent said they had forgiven others.

However, in what we call the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us, “Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. . . . Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us’” (Matthew 6:9, 12 NLT).

If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, then you’re a forgiven person. And forgiven people should be forgiving people.

Of course, life is filled with hurt and disappointments. We’ve all been hurt in life. And sometimes we don’t mean to do it, but we hurt others in life as well. That is why we must forgive.

You may regard someone who has hurt you as an enemy. You even bristle when you think about them. And maybe you’re saying, “You don’t understand what this person has done to me. I can never, ever forgive them.”

Yet Scripture doesn’t simply suggest forgiveness; it commands it. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (nlt). And Colossians 3:13 tells us, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (NLT).

I like this advice from my friend Max Lucado: “Before you get caught in the crazy cycle of hurt and forgiveness, try shifting your glance away from the one who hurt you and setting your eyes on the One who has saved you.”

If you want to live a happy, healthy, and blessed life, then learn how to forgive.