"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.Against such there is no law."1 “If my brother offends me, how many times shall I forgive him?” someone once asked Jesus, before offering a hopeful guess. “Seven times?” “No, seventy times seven!” was Jesus’ reply.2…
In recent years we’ve all seen or read about the horrors that can result when animosity escalates between people of divergent racial, ideological, or religious backgrounds. Ethnic confrontations in the Horn of Africa, political violence in North Africa, continued bloodletting in the Mideast, and strained race relations in scores of…
My heart aches for you. I feel your pain, the anger, the regret, the remorse, the feelings of being hurt and angered by the faults and mistakes and sins of others. I also know that it’s human nature to want to retaliate, to want revenge, and to resist that inner…
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. —Paul Boese (1668–1738) Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation. —Roberto Assagioli (1888–1974)
Questions: Why should I forgive others who have done things that hurt me? Wouldn’t that absolve them from guilt? Why should I let them off the hook like that? Answer: No matter how hard it may be to forgive, your situation can’t improve until you take that all-important step. It…