One of the central teachings of Jesus is the importance of forgiveness, both receiving it and giving it. Why is this such a central teaching of Jesus? I think there are a couple of reasons.

            First, forgiveness is closely connected to God. Forgiveness comes from a heart of love. And remember, in the teaching on God’s love I wrote that love is not just something that God does, it is who He is. God yearns to forgive us because He loves us so very much. The bible says, “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.” (Psalm 86:5). Also in Isaiah 55:7, it says, “Let them turn to the Lord that He may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously.” Can you see that? God really, really wants to forgive us. And when He does, He forgives generously!

            Second, forgiveness is the avenue by which we can become part of God’s family. When we have received God’s forgiveness, then the “thing” that separates us from God is taken away and we are brought close to God. The “thing” I am talking about is sin. When we ask for God’s forgiveness, our sin is forgiven and God adopts us into His family. The Apostle John writes “if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John 1:9).

            Third, Jesus teaches that there is a connection between us receiving forgiveness from God and us giving forgiveness to others. This next verse I am going to share with you is pretty tough to swallow. It is one that, if you are like me, wish wasn’t in the book. But it is, and since Jesus taught it, it must be true. Don’t try to explain it away. Read it, digest it, and let it sink in. Here it goes….”But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:15). Ouch! I told you that is a touch verse.

            One of the hardest things for many of us to do is to forgive others, I mean really forgive others. Oh, it isn’t hard to forgive the person who cuts in front of you in traffic, or the person who steals your parking spot in front of the grocery store, or even forgive our political leaders for making decisions we think are hurtful to the nation. It isn’t hard to forgive them because we really do not have relationship with them. What is hard to do is to forgive the people that we do have a relationship with. People in our family or people at work. The closer the person is to us, the harder it is to forgive. There is a direct correlation between the emotional closeness we have with a person and the level of difficulty there is in forgiving that person. In other words, it is harder to forgive our spouse or significant other than it is to forgive Osama bin Laden. Why? Because we are emotionally closer to our spouse or significant other than we are to Osama bin Laden (I hope!).

            Now, I am talking about real forgiveness here. Not the superficial mouthing of the words, “I forgive you”. I mean the kind of forgiveness that has depth to it. That reaches your inner soul and really forgives and really changes. This kind of forgiveness is the kind of forgiveness the bible teaches and followers of Jesus need to practice. God forgives us generously and deeply, and we should forgive others just the same.

            Forgiving others, and I mean really forgiving others, frees you from the guilt that you may be carrying. Not forgiving others brings more guilt and more anxiety. In fact, some scientists believe that having a forgiving attitude leads to better physical and mental health.

            Let me finish with a story that I heard last night. It is called “Two Monks in the Woods”.

            Two monks are out in the woods taking a walk. The monks walk quietly for about one hour until they reach a creek bed. Well, they are surprised when they reach this creek bed because it is usually dry. But because of the heavy rain the night before, the creek bed had 6 inches of water flowing over it. On the other side of the creek bed was a pretty young lady dressed in a snowy white dress. This pretty young lady looked sad as she stared at the creek bread. The silence was broken when the older of the two monks said to the pretty young lady, “Ma’am, why do you look so sad?” The pretty young lady said, “I left 2 hours ago to go for a walk. My house is on top of the hill”, she pointed, “right over there. I can’t cross the creek because I will get my dress all dirty. But if I return the way that I came, it will take me 2 hours to get home and I will be late for work.” The older monk then said to her, “I can help you. Just let me come across the creek bed to your side and I will pick you up and carry you across”. “Oh, that would be so nice,” said the pretty young lady. So the monk went across the creek bed and carried the pretty young lady across the creek bed, set her down on the ground. The pretty young lady thanked the older monk and they parted ways.

            The monks went on their way for about another hour in silence. As they came out of the woods and could see the monastery just a few hundreds yards away, the younger monk said, “I still can’t believe that you carried that pretty young lady across the creek. Why did you do that? That violates our own rules as monks.” The older monk responded, “Young man, I put that pretty young lady down an hour ago. I think its time you do the same now.”

            The moral of the story? It is your choice how long you carry unforgiveness with you. Isn’t it about time that you forgive those around you?

            Who do you need to forgive? Forgive them today. For their sake and yours.