“70 X 7″ by Justin March

“Forgiveness is
not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person’s throat.” William Paul Young from “The Shack”

Have you ever had
somebody betray you so badly that you never thought you could forgive them? Can
you think of a time when your trust in someone was compromised? Do you have
relationships that are broken, and you are not sure how they could ever be
repaired?

As we were watching
“The Shack” on Thursday night, these questions kept racing through my head. The
main character, Mackenzie, is challenged to forgive the man who murdered his
daughter and erased her from his life. Obviously, Mackenzie struggles with this
act of forgiveness, and he tells God he is not confident he can truly make this
happen. Yet God reminds Mackenzie that although his daughter’s murderer
committed an unspeakable act, that this man is still one of His children and
deserves a chance at redemption.

So, this means I must
forgive everybody that has hurt me in this life? You mean to tell me that no
matter how bad of a person I think they are, God says I need to forgive them
anyway? The answer is yes. God is not saying that forgiving them will erase all
the heartache and pain that was inflicted, but He is saying that the practice
of forgiveness will help subside the anger and hate that hold us back. And if
forgiving this person does not erase those hardened feelings we have towards
them, then we need to forgive them again and again until our hearts soften and
we can be open to accepting them as God has asked us to do.

I am learning that
forgiveness takes practice in this life. I must remember there is only one
judge, and when I think it is okay to do the judging for myself, I need take a
step back and realize that God loves everybody, even when I do not think they
deserve it. My capacity is too limited to make decisions about another person’s
life, and if I am finding it difficult to forgive someone who has wronged me,
then I need to forgive them again and again until I can reach a point of
acceptance and reconciliation so that the anger can no longer hold me back.

If you are struggling
to forgive a person or situation in your life, remember what Jesus said to
Peter about the act of forgiveness. Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive his
brother 7 times, and Jesus answered back, “I do not say to you seven times, but
seventy times seven.” What Jesus is telling us is that we are called to forgive
an infinite number of times because that is the number of times God forgives
us. When we fail to forgive as Christians, we become inconsistent with the
infinite forgiveness of God.

So yes, we must
forgive everybody that has hurt us in this life. We must see them as a child of
God and remember that we are not the rightful judge. We must soften our hearts,
let go of the anger, and accept those acts we are unable to control. And when
we find it difficult to forgive, we must practice doing it over and over again
because that is what God is doing for us. This life is about infinite
forgiveness, and once we understand how to let go and let God be the judge, we
will be the disciples He needs us to be. And when others see the healing and
grace that comes from our forgiveness for them, it is then that the separation
in our relationships ends, and we unite as one people under God!