Day two - time to let go

I learnt to say The Lord’s Prayer by rote near enough as soon as I could talk. I’m guessing most Christians learnt it in that way. But it was much later in life that I really learnt the meaning of the words.

During the last few weeks, I have been listening to the news as they have reported on the inquest of the people killed by the Manchester bomber. A relative of one of the victims gave her evidence and ended her statement saying that she forgave the killer for the death of her daughter. I don’t know if that woman had a faith, but I am guessing that she did. What courage and strength were demonstrated in those few words?

The verse of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts (trespasses) as we have forgiven our debtors” stands out for me. There is an assumption that we will forgive ourselves as well as those who harm us.

But as we approach the end of the year, still in the grip of this worldwide pandemic, with some people flaunting the rules, putting everyone’s safety at risk, how easy is it to forgive? There are times when we have to dig deep within ourselves to find the forgiveness we need.

Often it is easier for us to do the wrong thing – sometimes through ignorance, selfishness or because it is the easier/quicker route to a conclusion. Sometimes we go along with the crowd, follow like sheep. It may be that we don’t feel strong enough, either mentally, physically or spiritually to find a way to accept our role, its impact and effect on others. Forgiveness needs us to show compassion, love and understanding towards ourselves and towards others.

Forgiveness is often easy to say but not always easy to carry out. We often find it difficult to do this, and to let go of the hurt, frustration and anger we feel. But a lack of forgiveness is destructive. It will hurt us just as much, if not more than the person/people we are unable to forgive. It will hold us back from truly giving ourselves to God. If we are to grow in faith and truly live as God wants us to do, we must learn to forgive ourselves and those who have done something that has hurt us.

Over, and over again God forgives us. He even gave us His beloved Son and Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we would be forgiven. When I really think about what He has done for us and the implications of that, I feel that my own struggles with forgiveness seem futile and His strength helps me to be able to draw on that strength to help me move forward.

Living God,

Whether we find forgiveness easy or hard, help us to draw on your strength to help us find a way to forgive both ourselves and others. Teach us to listen, to learn and to follow you mindfully, spiritually and with all our hearts. Amen.

Kathy Shaw