REFLECTIONS

Freedom

The bonds loosed. Freedom explodes into a giant smile. And the inmate inhales freedom with the first step outside prison walls. I think that must be the way it feels when one is forgiven. But I think it may be even more freeing for the one forgiving.

Take the testimony of a victim of a violent crime. “I have forgiven him,” she said of the person who had violated her very being. But I wondered if she had really forgiven him? “How did you do that?” I asked. The answer was astonishing.

Emotion trumps reason, I’m told. It means that responses made in an emotional state are difficult to control through reason. Anger, emotional hurt, physical pain, love and hate are among those many things that trigger emotional responses.

Besides, crime victims are scarred. The scars become continuous reminders of the crime, the emotions arising from it, and the damage done by it. Scars may be covered up, but they aren’t easily erased. That’s the reason I questioned her response to me. Did she truly forgive or simply voice the words?

“I figured out that if I did not forgive him, he would be controlling me for the rest of my life. So, I forgave him. And I found freedom.”

Forgiveness is an act of neighborly love. And it is an act of loving your enemy. Look at Paul’s description of love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Now let’s insert forgiveness in the place of love.

[Forgiveness] is patient, [forgiveness] is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [Forgiveness] does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. [Forgiveness] never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

It works pretty well doesn’t it? Paul explains the power of love. But it’s easy to see that forgiveness is a precious act of it. Like love, it doesn’t arise from duty. It comes from grace. Both loose the bonds that bind us. And like truth; both set us free. Forgive…

Then watch freedom explode into a giant smile—both yours and the one forgiven.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org.

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