For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.  So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. 
Romans 5:10-11 (NLT) 

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. 
Philippians 2:13 (NLT) 

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 
Colossians 3:13 (NLT) 

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Forgiving someone who has deeply wronged us may be one of the most difficult things Jesus commands us to do. Our cries for justice often start small. “That guy just cut me off!” “I can’t believe she said that about me!” “How rude!” However, other transgressions are even more severe: betrayal, lies, abuse, and violation. God clearly values justice. He is described as just—and we are told to be just, too—but forgiveness often doesn’t feel like justice. In fact, it feels wrong. When Jesus tells us to forgive others, even our enemies, how can He possibly know what He’s asking? Actually, Jesus commands us to forgive precisely because He understands the insidiousness of unforgiveness.  

I was a teenager when I heard of Corrie Ten Boom. Her family hid Jewish people in their home during the Nazi occupation until they were arrested. Corrie was imprisoned in Ravensbrück concentration camp, witnessing the death of her father and sister, and undergoing horrific treatment. After 10 months, she was released due to a clerical error—just one week before all other women her age were executed. As a result of surviving such unjust suffering, Corrie began her journey of forgiveness and endeavored to teach others how to trust God, to suffer with faith, and to forgive. After several years, her ability to do all of the above was tested when a former Nazi guard from Ravensbrück approached her after church, thanked her for her message, and extended his hand to shake hers. Corrie wrote,   

I struggled to raise my hand. I could not…so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so, I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on his. When he tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.  (The Hiding Place.)

Corrie learned a most valuable truth. In order to forgive, we need to commit to forgiving and call upon God’s power. Justice was served when Jesus died for sin, but it’s His life that saves us from resentment, bitterness, and a perpetual cycle of hate. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus lives in His people “…working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Is there someone you need to forgive? How can you live forgivingly as you go about your day? Ask God to show you the answers to these questions. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, continue sharing the gift that Jesus gave you. 

Next Steps

• Spend time meditating on Christ’s death for you. 
• Examine your life and compose a prayer of forgiveness.