I Forgive… YOU!

Aug 16, 2023

... forgive one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

- St. Paul, Ephesians 4:32

"Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a different past."

- Anne Lamont

"Don't make me angry! You won't like me when I'm angry!" (Smile)

Anybody know who said that? Those are the words of Dr. Bruce Banner just before his anger turned him into that lean mean Superhero we call The Hulk. When someone hurt him, his anger would trigger another side of him. The Hulk personified anger gone bad! And while Superman is my favorite Superhero… I probably resemble The Hulk most of all.

For way too long, when someone hurt me deeply, I was way more Hulk-like than Christ-like. Beneath the surface of my mild-mannered life was a smoldering anger that rose up from the hot coals of unforgiven hurts that I harbored and refused to let go. By refusing to "let them off the hook," I thought I was punishing them… paying them back for the pain they caused me. The problem is… this created a hair trigger temper in me that almost anything anywhere could set me off – breaking hearts and damaging relationships. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

After one particularly bad anger episode that hurt someone very close to me, I went to a Pastor friend who knows me very well and I said, "I need help!" This is what he said to me:

"Everyone you care about is paying the price of your anger… anger that comes from your refusal to forgive those people who hurt you. By not letting them "off the hook", not only is your anger continuing to crucify the people in your world, but you are also robbing yourself of the joy God wants for you."

"So," I asked, "How can I fix it?"

He said: "There's only one way. You have to think about each one of the people who have hurt you over the years…. You have to say their name and state what they did to you, and then… after you have done that… you whisper, "I Forgive...You."

"But,” I replied, "I don't want to forgive them! And even if I did… how in the world could I forgive them?"

He said: "Again... There's only one way… What Jesus did on the Cross for you… has to be real. You have to say your name and state what you did to Jesus that crucified Him, and then… after you have done that… you whisper, "He Forgave… Me."

You remember the story of the Prodigal Son. The kid sins against his father -- he hurts his dad deeply and runs off and wastes his life. After losing everything… with nowhere to go… the boy returns home. When the father sees him, he takes off running towards his son. And even before the kid can say, "I'm sorry," or "I'll be better," or, "I promise I'll change"... the father hugs him and loves him and welcomes him home.

Jesus is saying that God's love and forgiveness flows to us even before we have a change of heart, or a change of behavior, or a change of attitude.

You and I have received love and grace and joy – as a Gift from the Father – while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8)! God the Father let you and me "off the hook" for all the wrongs we committed against Him and His children. God said, "I Forgive… YOU!" And that's why God now calls us to extend to people who hurt us the one thing we want most for ourselves.... grace.

So, I want to invite you – today – to forgive whoever it is you need to forgive.

If, right now, there's something rattling around in your head and heart, and you've never forgiven that person for it… I invite YOU… o say their name and state what they did… and then whisper, "I Forgive...YOU!"