I’m sharing five points about forgiveness that I’ve learned in the last couple of years.  Part of this is from the late Timothy Keller’s book called Forgiveness, and I’ve used it in our area Kairos Prison Ministry.

Too many of us, myself included, are bound by resentment, hatred, shame, contempt, anger…that we hold toward another, or ourselves….. and in many cases for many years.  But if we want to follow Jesus, we are to forgive as we have been forgiven.  

The first point in offering forgiveness is to look to Jesus, not our peers. 

If there is someone we admire, but we know they hold a grudge or hate someone — and with good reason — we don’t use that as an excuse to do the same thing.  We look to Jesus, not our peers.

The second point is that when we forgive we absorb the loss.  If a debt is forgiven, the lender absorbs the loss. It is over — we don’t retain the debt, the wrong.  We do not say, “I’ll forgive you, but I won’t forget this!”

(That doesn’t mean we don’t use discernment.  That doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t pay for their crimes.  It means that forgiveness means release — and it is a release of us, not of them.  When I finally let go of the long-held hatred and resentment, it frees me, not someone else.)

The third point is that Jesus absorbs the loss.  Jesus paid the price for our sin, and for the sin of the world, on the Cross.  Don’t forget that when you remember how so and so was rude to you.  

The fourth and fifth points are related: the fourth is you can’t do this.  You can’t forgive someone on your own.  We are too interested in preserving our status, our image of ourselves, our standing.  

But Jesus can, and that’s the fifth and final point.  

Jesus can, and breathes on us the breath of God so that we can, through Him.  

Forgiveness is the Gospel message.