By Charlie Fuller
Forgiveness might be the most difficult spiritual practice. It’s certainly one of the most important. Forgiveness is ultimately relational. It’s vital to our relationships with others and our relationship with ourselves.
Forgiveness isn’t limited to faith groups. Some folks in the UK have discovered the power of forgiveness and are sharing those stories with the world. They’ve learned that forgiveness is just good medicine for people “from all faiths and none.” You can read more about the Forgiveness Project at theforgivenessproject.com/stories.
As Christians, we forgive because we’re called to forgive. But the scriptural call to forgive comes with a promise, a promise from Jesus himself, a promise we recite every week: “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
Of course, we forgive for the sake of others. To forgive is to promote the good in others, to lift up in some way those who are just like us, fellow humans created by God.
We also forgive for our own sakes: to paraphrase a famous quote, to fail to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. When we withhold forgiveness, we keep emotions bottled up inside of us that are better released. To forgive is, in some ways, a self-centered act. We do it for ourselves as well as for others.
When we forgive, we also are setting an example for others. We find the energy to forgive in the stories of others who’ve made the choice to forgive. When we forgive, we’re making room for others to do the same. There’s a communal synergy that occurs when communities choose forgiveness.
One of the participants in the Forgiveness Project said this about their experience: “For me forgiveness started with first forgiving the system, then forgiving my perpetrator and eventually forgiving myself.”
How about you? Who will you forgive today? How will you forgive today?