How Deep Must Forgiveness Go?

How Deep Must Forgiveness Go?

Jesus told his listeners that. “When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that  your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”  (Mk 11: 26).

Peter asked Jesus “If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?  As many as seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy times seven times.”  (Mt. 18: 21 - 22).  

Joyce Meyers, a TV evangelist tells her audience how as a little girl her father raped her until she reached her late teens.  Her mother was aware of this but out of fear from her husband did nothing to stop it.  She later, at the urging of God, forgave both of them and even took care of both until their deaths.  

There is a story of one woman who was brutally raped, lost her eyesight and finally had an opportunity to meet her attacker face to face in court.  She confronted and forgave him.  Her words to him were, “you destroyed my trust in men and took away my innocence and eyesight.  You will not take my faith as well.”  

The stories of innocent people being attacked verbally, physically, or psychologically by false accusations are innumerable and the persons that are victimized are hard to imagine in a modern society.  Yet, they exist and the results of some have created suicides among other results.  However, from statistics it has created unbelievable encounters of many victims facing and forgiving their perpetrators ridding their own relief of pain from the memories.  

When Jesus responded to Peter’s question of how many times we must forgive, it wasn’t just hyper-bole or a gesture of rhetoric, it was absolute truth.  

During the stations of the cross each of the 14 stops remind us of the sins each of us are guilty of created this journey.  Yet, he told the women to pray for their children, he looked passionately at Veronica as she wiped his bloody face, and showed thanks to Simon when he lifted the cross onto his own body.

Each event was a step towards the forgiveness God showed us through his Son being nailed to the cross, suffering humility, crying for the pain to which we were forgiven, and finally saying, “Father forgive them.”  How deep did his forgiveness have an effect on us?  Ask Jesus this very question when we meet him at our judgement!

Ralph B. Hathaway, The deep forgiveness we must have.