After being beaten, spit on, accused of a crime that you did not commit, would you have the courage to forgive them? Would you have the power to withhold your instincts for revenge?
In Luke 23:34 Jesus says, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” While being nailed on the cross, He addressed this merciful plea to His Father in favor of those who crucified him. Sometimes, when we are treated unfairly, we automatically think of an eye for an eye as our only method of justice. Very often, we are so eager to get revenge that we cast God aside and take matters into our own hands. We can become blinded by hatred that all the wonderful teachings we learn in bible study about forgiveness can change into empty words.
As followers of Jesus Christ, it’s crucial that we adopt an attitude of forgiveness in painful situations. Forgiveness may sound impractical when all we can think of is the suffering caused by the other person. Luckily for us, God says “if we ask, we shall receive.” So, we should ask Him to give us the strength to forgive and love others as He does for us. We should pray the Holy Spirit to convert our hearts of hate into hearts of love. Let’s keep in mind that with God all things are possible, even forgiving a murderer.
