Forgiveness is not accepting unacceptable behavior Forgiveness is not giving a “free pass.” Forgiveness does not necessarily include reconciliation

A former POW asked another former POW, “Have you forgiven your captors yet?” He answered, “I will never do that.” “Then they still have you in prison, don’t they?

The consequences for not forgiving are monumental, even tortuous – not God torturing us, but God handing us over to our own unwillingness to forgive – torturing ourselves. When we relive the wrong over and over – that is torture. It’s no way to live.

Judges 15

“To forgive is to make a conscious choice to release the person who has wounded us from the sentence of our judgement, however justified that judgement may be. It represents a choice to leave behind our resentment and desire for retribution, however fair such punishment may seem…Forgiveness involves excusing persons from the punitive consequences they deserve because of their behavior.

The behavior remains condemned, but the offender is released from its effects as far as the forgiver is concerned. Forgiveness means the power of the original wound’s power to hold us trapped is broken.” – Marjorie J. Thompson

It is very difficult to hold someone in contempt while holding them in prayer.

I am forgiven. Help me forgive.