“I’ll never forgive them” are tragic words and, in some cases, fully understandable. If we are honest, who does not struggle to forgive? The greater the hurt; the greater the difficulty. I found myself in this place when dealing with family hurt and I echoed those opening words.
That was until I experienced my own need for forgiveness, which is a universal need. Only when I understood that I too was responsible for the Good Friday atrocity that occurred nearly 2,000 years ago on the hill called Calvary. Expressed helpfully in Stuart Townend’s great song, How Deep the Father’s Love:
“Behold the man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life –
I know that it is finished.”
Asking God and receiving His forgiveness following the healing power of repentance, I discovered that I was truly liberated to forgive and doing so was truly liberated to live again. God’s love for us is bottomless and so is His forgiveness.
