Article July 30, 1990 Issue

Forgiveness that heals

When we choose to forgive instead of to hate, we are helping not just ourselves but our world.

Forgiveness is never out of style. And today's world certainly needs more of it. Worldwide hatred and mistrust begin with individual misunderstanding, and it is, therefore, right within our day-to-day living that we have an opportunity to help our world. We can express more forgiveness in our individual lives.

Learning to forgive isn't always easy, especially when we've been unjustly accused or held up to ridicule. The temptation to strike back is great. But there is a better way to correct the problem: the power of prayer. Self-justification and retaliation unleash a current of further antagonism and resentment. The Christian sense of solving problems through prayer comforts, harmonizes, and heals.

The prayer of forgiveness, however, is not synonymous with a stoic toleration of negative conditions. There is no divine justification for condoning the misdeeds of others and suffering from their impositions upon us. Christ Jesus didn't "tolerate" evil, but he did forgive with the Christly love that heals and redeems. In doing so, he demonstrated the gentle, patient strength of spiritual affection. How else on the cross could he have prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do"?

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