In February, we talked about the miracle of forgiveness. One requirement for obtaining forgiveness from God for our sins is that we must forgive those who wrong us. There are times that this can be difficult or challenging; however, it is something we must do.
As we begin reading this week’s lesson, we learn about an incident in President Kimball’s life where he sought to defuse a ward-wide fuse. After much counsel, prayer, and study with the two opponents, he read to them from Doctrine & Covenants 64. The verse which most touched them was verse 9, when they learned that he (or she!) who does not forgive the one that offended him actually bears the greater sin.
I was particularly touched by the footnote in Ephesians 4:32. The verse reads “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” As I read, I realized that God forgave us solely because of Christ.
Now, of course I knew this intellectually. Christ took all of our sins upon us and thus we are forgiven if we repent. However, I never seriously thought the matter through. Heavenly Father doesn’t forgive us because we are trying to do better. He doesn’t forgive us because we are good people, or even because He loves us (although He did provide a Savior because He loves us). He forgives us solely because Christ interceded in our behalf; He forgives us for the sake of Jesus, who put Himself on the line for us.
When we sin, we hurt our Father in Heaven. Not physically, but emotionally, much as a teen (or toddler) who screams “I hate you” to a parent might hurt them. Similarly, when someone offends or wrongs us, they hurt us, sometimes physically, but always emotionally. Yet it is up to us to forgive them, whether or not they repent. We do not need to forgive them because they are striving to change; we do not need to forgive them because they are sorry or trying to right the wrong. We must do as our Father in Heaven has done and forgive them for Christ’s sake.
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