ABSOLUTION

Easter is not only about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. It is much more. Eph 1:7 reveals the true meaning of the events at Easter – “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” It is thus about the unconditional love and forgiveness of God.

But this action and events also tasks us to forgive one another, even as God for Christ’s sake have forgiven us (Eph 4:32). This is easier said than done. We will say we forgive another but never forget. We continue to walk around bearing bitterness and holding grudges.

Forgiveness is not an act to forgo of revenge; to forget about an injustice; to show the world how great we are or that we condone a wrongdoing. No, forgiveness is an art that we have not yet got hold of. Forgiveness is the act to go to Golgotha to see how God have forgiven us our sins. It will allow us to stay at the cross to learn to forgive others and then to look up to the father to learn how to forget the sins of those we have forgiven.

Forgiveness helps one to accept situations that seem to be unfair; unexpected trauma and wrongdoings or our desire for justice. Desmond Tutu says that forgiveness is the best form of self-interest when we realise that forgiveness is how we can bring peace to ourselves and the world. By holding a grudge you are locked in a state of victimhood, making you dependent on the perpetrator, and prevent you from putting your time and energy into other fruitful avenues.

Resentment is like drinking poison hoping the guilty party will die. Resentment can greatly affects your health and energy levels. It leads to pain, suffering, a greatly restricted flow of life energy and in many cases physical diseases.

Forgiveness does not mean that you have to suppress your feelings. It requires of you to acknowledge what you feel and why you feel it; to forgive yourself for being a human and then, in the spirit of not wallowing in pain, to let go.

Eckhart Tolle said that forgiveness is to offer no resistance to life - to allow life to live through you. In forgiving you reclaim power from the mind – you feel noticeable lighter. Hated and resentment have a tight grip in the same way that the more one focuses on a problem, the more ingrained it becomes. Forgiveness results in a loosing of that tight grip. And in this space that the possibility for healing and a new perspective can be found. (Ampie Barnard).

Lewis B. Smedes said that forgiveness is not a process to forget a wrongdoing or to pardon your behaviour in a situation. It is a new beginning - a fresh start. The one who is worst affected in the process of unforgiveness is the one who cannot bring himself to forgive. Forgiveness is like releasing a prisoner only to discover that you were mentally and physically the prisoner.

Benjamin Franklin said the following:

To do injustice to another makes you inferior to that person;

To have one’s revenge makes you equal to that person; but

To forgive another makes you superior to that person.

Help me to take the first step, in humbleness and without remorse to forgive those to whom I bear a grudge.