In Need of a Miracle

Jesus said that if we don't forgive our brother from our heart, we will not be forgiven. That just doesn't seem to be the way we operate. When someone injures us, we have a whole court system that will help us to get reparations for what we have suffered. I don't see very many examples of true forgiveness in this world of human beings. Dogs seem to be better at it than we are, and that is because their memories aren't very good!

That's just it...memory. A dog quickly forgets his ears being brutally cut off, but humans can't forget the hurt and the anger they feel. So how do we forgive from the heart? I am not sure. I can't always control my feelings. I can control my actions though. I am reminded of a story that Corrie ten Boom told about forgiving her enemy. There was a guard that had beaten her sister in a concentration camp in Germany during WWII. Her sister had died in the camp and Corrie was alone after the war. She was speaking to a group of Christians about God's grace and forgiveness in even the darkest of places. After the talk, the same guard who had ill-treated her sister in the camp, came towards her with hand outstretched, to greet her. Of course, Corrie remembered the brutal beating that her sister had suffered from this person. She prayed, "God I can't forgive. Help me!" and then stretched her hand out. As the guard took her hand, forgiveness somehow flowed through them.

Obviously, her memory of this event remained with her, but her feelings did change. She could still remember the way she felt but she did not hold on to the angry, hurt feelings. Perhaps whenever we are able to forgive, a miracle takes place.