The Christian Duty to Forgive

In the Bible (Colossians 3:12), we are told:

“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another, and if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive one another, just as the Lord forgave you, so you too must forgive.”

True forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do in life and one of the most important. It is the antidote for the sins of anger and pride. Forgiveness destroys a great barrier that separates us from the grace of Christ. Like a muscle, it must be exercised repeatedly, because we will never get tired of being angry and proud.

Forgiveness is an expression of one of the two great commandments of Christ: “You shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is similar to him: love your neighbor as yourself”. We remind ourselves of its importance every day when we pray “Forgive us our trespasses, as we also forgive those who trespass against us.” The Lord’s Prayer was written by Christ himself, and the prayer to forgive as we are forgiven is a constant reminder of its importance.

This is an act that divides the Christian from the secular world. Society and the media seem obsessed with revenge and justice. In general, secular society does not adhere to the commandment of Christ. Many Christian doctrines have been secularized by society, but forgiveness is rarely one of them. Every time someone sins against you, hurts you in your earthly life, or offends your pride, you are given the opportunity to display the power of Christ.

We believe that justice belongs to God, not to ourselves. Certainly secular law can punish criminals, and most Christians have no problem seeing the law enforced. But we must always be on our guard against the trap of the “hanging judge,” a person who has internalized high standards of conduct for himself and thus becomes even more angry and vindictive when he sees evil in another. This is a parody of Christianity, considered typical by many non-Christians and, in truth, it occurs often enough in life to worry us.

When evil is done, our starting point must be Christ’s command to forgive. Sometimes it’s incredibly difficult, because people sometimes do terrible things. Drunk drivers run over and kill children. Rebellious teens vandalize property. There is nothing bad that can be done that man does not want to do. But we must remember that the people who commit these terrible acts are children of God and their souls are not necessarily lost. Our initial reaction should be to remember this and forgive them in our hearts.