Receiving the Power to Forgive
Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. [Colossians 3:13 (NRSV)]
I’ve called to ask for your forgiveness.” The call came out of the blue, one year after Greg* disappeared, having squandered the help we gave him to get out of trouble. “Please, forgive me,” he added. I was glad to hear from him but surprised and taken aback. I don’t recall ever receiving such a request so clearly and directly; it called for an equally direct response.
But in a flash, questions flooded my mind. Am I ready to forgive so suddenly, so easily? Will he repay the money he wasted? Does he really deserve the grace he is asking for?
I breathed a prayer, “Lord, help me out here. What should I do?” Again, in a flash, words entered my mind: “Do for him what I have done for you.” Softened by this prompting, I said sincerely, “Greg, I do forgive you. What we care about most is you finding what you need. Let’s talk about how we can best support you at this point.”
The experience taught me that “power belongs to God” (Ps. 62:11). Forgiving Greg did not depend on my limited human capacity to care but on my willingness to let Christ’s unbounded love work through me. Jesus showed that God wants to share the power with us. I received that gift the moment I prayed for help.
An old Chinese proverb says, “When we live with resentment, we dig two graves.” In forgiving Greg, we had to relinquish our “right” to hold him in judgment, to punish him endlessly in the court of our hearts. Choosing to forgive means giving people what they need, not what they deserve. Greg deserved our anger. Even so, what he needed from us was merciful release from our judgment.
Stephen D. Bryant
Editor and Publisher
The Upper Room
From The Upper Room daily devotional guide, January/February 2010. Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
