In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask forgiveness from God to the same degree in which we forgive others their offenses against us, and we are reminded that to forgive or not forgive has consequences. One of the consequences of a failure to forgive is the impairment of our lives in the present. When we will not forgive we carry the burden of our anger as a debilitating load. It hampers our ability to be at peace with ourselves and with all others, and it becomes an impenetrable barrier to love itself – both human and divine.
In every act of true forgiveness we cancel the debt (sin, trespass) that we believe is owed to us and we are set free from the bondage in which we have been held by our anger. That is not to say that every feeling is immediately healed and a broken relationship instantly restored, but it does mean that personal healing can finally begin for the one who forgives, with the assurance that whether one’s forgiveness is appreciated or even recognized by the one forgiven, God’s blessing and grace will be present for the one who chooses to forgive.
In the end forgiveness is a deliberate act of the heart, soul and mind that is chosen no matter how we happen to “feel” about the situation. In doing so we participate in an act of grace and we open ourselves to the healing power of God’s love for us. That being true, when we forgive, we receive far more in our forgiveness than the one who has been forgiven.
– The Very Rev. Dr. Michael Doty Rector, the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross, Tryon Dean, Hendersonville Deanery, the Diocese of Western North Carolina