"One of my wise teachers, Dr. William F. Orr, told me, 'There is only one thing evil cannot stand and that is forgiveness.'" --Fred Rogers
I like this quote, but I paused to ponder if it's true or not. Is forgiveness the ONE THING evil cannot stand? I want to know what you think as you process, but I think that there's at least some truth in the quote.
Why?
Let's think of the composition of forgiveness:
Trusting God to make things right rather than myself.
Killing my need to be right.
Dying to my own desire for revenge.
Deciding to act on truth rather than my emotions.
Love. (At least for God. Hopefully real love for the person we're forgiving follows the deliberate act of forgiveness.)
Recognizing that I have been forgiven of too much to withhold my forgiveness.
Giving grace as I've received grace.
There's another quote that keeps popping up in my path by Ken Sande that I love. He says that unforgiveness is like drinking poison while hoping the other person will die.
So forgiveness is also loving ourselves enough to give ourselves the gift of freedom.
What do you think? Is forgiveness the one thing that evil cannot stand?
Monday, April 11, 2011
Mr. Rogers Monday
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4 comments:
oh, I definitely believe that forgiveness makes evil cringe, what is it about forgiveness that is so hard, you listed several of the reasons. As Christians we know Christ paid the ultimate penalty for our sins. Our pastor preached a great sermon yesterday about forgiveness, I think there must be a message here for me.
thanks for your post.
Oh myyyyyy...I have struggled with this one. Yes, I do agree that forgiveness is the one thing that evil can't stand. I agree also that forgiveness leads to freedom. After harboring hatred and bitterness for over twenty years, I was finally able to go through the process of forgiving a man I was involved with as a teenager. The program Celebrate Recovery helped me be able to get to this point. When I could finally claim myself as a victim, I was able to begin the process. When I completed it, I felt as if I had the weight of the world removed from me. I was also able to let down my guard and finally say to my husband "I can now love you with my whole heart". My perpetrator no longer had power over me! My life is fuller, my marriage is stronger, and best of all, I am free of the power this man had over me for almost a quarter of a century! Praise the Lord!!
I sincerely loved the question the question you proposed.
Being a recipient of TRUE forgiveness in the ever growing distant past, I am able to much more easily forgive, and more importantly love others.
In order to love, you must be able to forgive. Jesus loves me without condition...this was proven as He died on a cross for sins of past, present and future.
Satan despises that. :P
Though I KNOW I am not as free with forgiveness as I should be, it's a gift from God that I am able to practice daily...both forgiveness of others and even myself.
GREAT POST!!! :) <><
WOW! "Trusting God to make things right rather than myself, Killing my need to be right, Dying to my own desire for revenge, Deciding to act on truth rather than my emotions..."
I was supposed to read your blog TODAY. Thank you for your words confirming what God has already been speaking to my heart about a particular situation.
Sweet Blessings,
Pam
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