Forgiveness

The act of forgiving or being forgiven is central to the Christian message.  Jesus and Peter had the following exchange on forgiveness:

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!"

Matthew 18:21-22 (NLT)

It was Jewish law and custom to forgive a person 3 times for an offense and after that you were allowed to write them off.  So when Peter asks if he should forgive someone 7 times he was going beyond the Jewish custom.  Jesus answer is that he should forgive them an unlimited number of times.  There is no scoreboard when it comes to forgiveness.

So from the Christian worldview what is forgiveness?  You've probably heard the saying 'forgive and forget' but is the realistic?  If someone deeply hurts you, especially someone close to you, it comes across as extremely insensitive and unreasonable for someone to say 'You need to forgive and forget'.  Forgiveness doesn't mean you automatically start to trust someone again right away either.

Forgiveness is an act of releasing anger and resentment towards someone else.  It gives us the opportunity to move forward and heal.  It allows you to let go and display the same grace you've been given through Jesus.

Links
7 Things Forgiveness IS
7 Things Forgiveness is NOT
8 Reminders for Granting True Forgiveness