Article July 4, 1931 Issue

Learning to Forgive

HETTY MEISNER

To human sense there is, perhaps, no harder lesson to learn than the holy art of forgiving one's so-called enemies. And it is necessary that we obtain this spiritual capacity in order to gain forgiveness for ourselves. Jesus gave us the prayer, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Thus, as we forgive our debtors, so are we forgiven our debts.

Before one is enlightened by Christian Science, he may try to forgive by asking God to endow him with personal generosity or magnanimity sufficient to perform the act of forgiving what appear to him to be real wrongs and wrongdoers. This effort must, however, inevitably end in failure, as it implies the reality of evil—an impossibility in divine Science.

What does it mean to forgive? It means, in part, "To cease to feel resentment against [a person] on account of wrong committed." To mortal sense it may seem natural to resent injustice and all kinds of evil, but this is because mankind frequently identifies so-called evil with person. In "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy has written (p. 9), "'Love thine enemies' is identical with 'Thou hast no enemies.'" Forgiving, then, must be identical with loving. In Christian Science we learn that real love has nothing to do with mutable sentiments, but consists in knowing the truth about man as God's image and in conforming one's thoughts and deeds to this truth. In order, therefore, to love our enemies, we must know the truth about real spiritual selfhood.

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

Send a comment to the editors
NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Article
Reliance on Love
July 4, 1931
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit