Article August 2, 1924 Issue

True Forgiveness

VANESSA PERRY LOBDELL

"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," is a very simple and direct request, one that all sincere Christians have prayed since the days when Jesus taught it to men. Yet in the light of Christian Science this supplication, like a multitude of other passages from the Bible, possesses much greater meaning than might at first appear; and it is capable of producing very far-reaching effects. What true forgiveness is and how we are to forgive others and thus open the door for our own forgiveness are questions which arise with one seeking to find in this passage from the Lord's Prayer healing for some inharmonious condition.

On page 497 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, one of the tenets of Christian Science reads: "We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts." Thus true forgiveness is not mere pardon, without the removal of the sin, but the actual destruction of the sin itself. To truly forgive another for some so-called wrong to ourself is not a matter of merely saying we are willing to forgive and forget; but it is to destroy the thought of any supposed wrong in our own consciousness.

The only way, then, really to forgive is to do it as divine Mind does, by the elimination of the error and the acknowledgment of Truth. On page 11 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says, "Truth bestows no pardon upon error, but wipes it out in the most effectual manner." Any fancied wrong or injustice that we may feel has been done us is no more real than we make it by allowing it to seem real to us. True forgiveness is a cleansing process whereby we free our own consciousness of all sense of wrong. It is to see clearly that as the child of God one cannot suffer for any sins except his own, and that in just the proportion we manifest love to others we prove our unity with God, divine Love. This manifestation of love not only will heal our own heart, but will be felt by the one who seemed to wrong us.

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The Ark of God
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