Why Should I Forgive?
This is a pretty intense question. Like, what does ANYONE know about the very painful thing you went through. I may not know – no one else on this world may know – the very painful thing you went through, but there is something I do know. The tight grip you have been using to hold on to the memory of that pain, thinking that by keeping the memory alive you are somehow keeping the accountability alive; but you’re not.
Have you ever wondered to yourself, why am I not able to move forward in life? Why can’t I seem to get to that next step? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that both your hands are grasping the memory of the pain and the person so tightly, that when God tries to give you a blessing, you are too busy being bitter and your hands are already grasping something else, refusing to let go and receive what God has instead.
When God sent His One and Only Son to this earth, Jesus knew that the road wouldn’t be easy, but I think to an extent He may have felt like the betrayal was beyond even what He imagined. I mean, Jesus’ prayer before He was to be handed over to be crucified for us all was “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me (Luke 22:42).” The pain and betrayal He had endured to that point must have been so great that He couldn’t imagine going through any more. However, when they took Jesus, he went through the worst physical beating and then was hung on a cross to die; to die for people that didn’t believe in Him, for people who abandoned Him in his most vulnerable moment and for people who did care about Him. And even in his most painful moment, Jesus somehow utters these words “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).” Like Jesus, WHAT? How in the world could you be thinking about THEM after everything they have done to YOU. But there is the key. Jesus was about to change history for all of us. He was about to die for all of our sins and rise again – forever changing the course of salvation and our lives. Can you imagine if he did that all bitter? The pain Jesus felt was very much still present in that moment – after all, it led to his death. What Jesus released was the responsibility of what happened to Him. Jesus knew this pain was necessary to bring forward something new, something the world had never seen. But I don’t think He could have brought in what was new if He was still holding on to the old.
How has holding on to the pain and betrayal helped you? Has it helped you? If even in this moment, can you lay your hands on your lap? Open your palms so they are face up and can you pray: “God, if you can let go of the greatest pain and betrayal, can you please help me do that same thing too? I am releasing the grip on the pain and betrayal and asking you to replace it with your grace and courage to move on. I want to receive and LIVE in what you have for me…because it is so much better than staying stuck in the past of my pain. In Jesus name, Amen.”
I know that once you begin to find healing and once you begin to focus on living in this moment, new things will flourish and you will be able to plant new seeds for an even greater harvest. Don’t allow your past to dictate your future. Acknowledge the pain, but then release it through forgiveness, knowing that the same grace that is extended to you is also for everyone else. Crazy, right? But that’s the power of grace…God’s grace.
