[Forgive] each other, just as
in Christ God forgave you.
—Ephesians 4:32
General James Oglethorpe was infuriated by an abrasive comment by one of his comrades.
When the offender apologized and asked forgiveness, Oglethorpe snapped, I never forgive!” “Then I hope,” mulled his aide, “that you never sin.”
Where would we stand with God if he used the same measure in forgiving us that we use in forgiving others?
Forgiving a person who has hurt us is difficult. Is there a prescription for getting there?
Yes. It is this: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph 4:32). We will bury the unforgiving spirit the moment we embrace the last seven words of that sentence.
Forgiveness may not change the forgiven,
but it profoundly changes the forgiver.