I Forgive...

Ephesians 4:32

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.

My biggest regret in life is not teaching my children the power of forgiveness. Even though I, too, never learned it growing up, there were many opportunities to take hold of one of the most important lessons in God’s Word.

Countless examples of forgiveness are shown through the pages of the Bible. In John, Chapter 8, Jesus forgives a woman caught in adultery. Genesis, chapters 37-50, tells the story of Joseph’s brothers throwing him into a cistern and then subsequently selling him for twenty shekels of silver, but years later, being forgiven by Joseph. In Acts 7:60, Stephen, while being stoned, cries out asking God not to hold this sin against his attackers. And, of course, there’s the story in Luke 15 we have heard countless times, of the prodigal son's father forgiving him, upon his return home.

During the past couple of weeks, I started this essay numerous times, in my mind, and on my keyboard. I kept hitting roadblocks and almost abandoned the effort. After much prayer and soul-searching, I realized what was holding me back--I never forgave myself--for unspoken words, for harsh words, for action taken and action not taken.

As a Christian, I understand the most important tenet of my faith—through Christ’s blood, my sins are forgiven. I was also taught, as in the verse above from Ephesians, to forgive others. The idea of forgiving myself, though, was not even on my radar. For a very long time, I felt that if I forgave someone, even myself, for what caused the need for forgiveness in the first place, what happened was OK. I needed to remember that we are not forgiving the behavior; we’re forgiving the person. That forgiveness needs to be accompanied by repentance, humility, and acceptance.

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
And wisdom to know the difference