Sometimes people have a hard time forgiving another who did them harm because they believe that forgiving them somehow overlooks the crime and pretends like it never happened. This is not true. Forgiveness is never approval of an evil. Forgiveness does not overlook a crime. Forgiveness does not pretend like an evil never occurred. Forgiveness is how we respond to an evil act. It’s about us, not about them.
Forgiveness is the ability to still send love out despite evil coming in.
Jesus uttered on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” Jesus was well aware of the crime committed against him, and he was not overlooking the persecution as if it never happened. It happened, and he suffered from it. But he did not let the crime pull his thought to a low level of hatred, anger and resentment. He forgave them and continued to send love their way so he could be delivered from their evil intent and triumph over their attack. He stayed at a high level of love to save himself from prolonged suffering. And he was delivered from their clutches by remaining in a consciousness of Love, exercising divine forgiveness, and walking triumphantly out of the tomb three days later.
So, don’t let another’s evil acts imprison you in a tomb of despair, anger or resentment. Love your way out. Forgive and be free.
At this time of remembering 9/11, we all need to learn more about forgiveness. But reading it just now helped me to realize that I am not forgiving myself about my husband’s passing. I am blaming myself, and this does no good, but only ‘imprisons’ me in despair. I like the admonition to ‘love your way out’. I thank you for this Spiritview today. It opened my eyes!
Oh, thank you, Evan, for this very clear explanation of forgiveness. I have never heard a definition of forgiveness that is any clearer than this!
I have been doing it all wrong all these years. I guess that’s why the feeling of prolonged suffering from someone else’s evil actions has continued to linger.
I will be more conscious of sending love out from now on!
This is great. What a help!
🙂
But what if you are the one that didn’t have the strength to stop horrible suffering from happening? How can you forgive yourself?
To above,
By loving the child of God within that can step in and alleviate suffering in the future. God does not hold a mortal past against us. God only knows what we are spiritually capable of doing. Focus on the right, do the right, and that is all you can do. You can be assured there where you felt you failed in the past, God was there in ways you did not realize, taking care of that individual.
I’m glad I read this not only when it first arrived (3:27 a.m. on Sept. 9th), but again just now, just over 24 hours later.
In between, I had allowed myself to suffer mightily by refusing to forgive a handful of people. I couldn’t stand how they talked piously about loving everyone while treating certain people pitilessly (and pretending it was normal to do so). They seemed to me to be Pharisees and terrorists rolled into one.
So late tonight, when I was still stewing over their apparent hypocrisy and longing for release from my mental agony, I listened to a podcast about overcoming fear of terrorism: http://tmcyouth.com/media/podcasts/tmcyouth-podcasts/hid-with-christ-in-god.
All the ideas in it helped calm my terrorized thought.
Then I went back and reread this blog. Next I read the comments underneath. They’re so heartfelt, I couldn’t help but be deeply touched. They caused em to go back and read the blog still a third time.
And this time, it clicked: “Forgiveness is the ability to still send love out despite evil coming in.” Ahhhhhhhh, yes.
I knew this was God’s truth, God’s love, speaking directly to me. I felt a wave of relief.
Here’s what I have learned: I realized I was unable to forgive myself for being unable to forgive others!!!!
I realized that once I forgave myself, then and only then could I begin to forgive others — in my case, the ones I was imagining were Pharisees. I had to quit being high-and-mighty judge of them — a Pharisee myself!
Then and there, I decided I just HAD to let go of this whole unforgiveness mess!
So I turned it all over to God. I asked that my vengeful thoughts to be replaced with sweet, tender ones. I realized that I truly do WANT to love all, and see all as the loved and loving children of Love.
After all, the only way I can be happy is to feel forgiving. It’s also the only way I can help others find freedom from unforgiveness.
Thanks to this Love-inspired chain of events, I’m now walking on the path of healing — the path of righteousness. I’ve turned away from the path of unforgiveness — the path to nowhere.
Now I’m headed somewhere! 🙂
Thank you, God.