Forgiving is a difficult business. It’s easier to carry the flame of anger and harbor ill-gotten feelings, and then use that anger to utterly demolish the person/people who gravely wronged us and therefore we need to forgive. So understand here that I’m talking about people who you think have gravely and unjustly wronged you in a tangible, self-evident way and are coming back into your life apologetically requesting forgiveness. For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? – Matthew 9:5 Jesus gives us two choices we can make when confronting somebody who needs forgiveness: we can either let go and forgive – that is, not let the mistake bog down your (the victim’s) or the other person’s (the transgressor’s) consciences – or, you can work with that person and fix the root of the problem. In a sense, He places before us an impossible catch-22. Because we are Christian and therefore anointed by the power and spirit of God, we can radically alter lives through God, who guides our steps. At the same time, if we don’t want to invest so heavily in a project, isn’t it easier to let our pride go and forgive the actions of the person who wronged us? The answer is “yes.” In this story we know that the person Jesus forgives is a stranger to him, so there was no direct injustice inflicted upon Jesus by this man. But we have to realize is that Jesus is forgiving on behalf of God, the Father. He forgives sins (injustice against God) to free the conscience of this man. This simply means that forgiveness is not an absolution of guilt; rather, it is an acceptance despite of. To accept people despite of their mistakes is the ultimate form of forgiveness. Allow me to caveat this: forgiveness is not the same as allowing somebody who’s wronged you to continue to torment you so. Jesus doesn’t offer that type of forgiveness, so you shouldn’t feel that forgiveness is the same as allowing yourself to be victimized. Forgiveness is the act of letting go of the pain and anguish that was caused by an act of violence. It is in this same way that we are forgiven by God: He lets go of the pain and anguish we cause Him. We are all blessed to be accepted by God, given our innumerable inconsistencies and inadequacies: we all fall far short of perfection. God forgives us and loves us. And, just as our self-destructive behavior and inability to love ourselves perpetuates the need for our Creator’s forgiveness on a daily basis, we need to forgive and love the people around us who try really hard to hurt us with the shards of their own self-destruction and imperfections. In doing so, we are not absolving them from their shame, and we are not taking away the backlash and consequences of their sin; rather, we are validating that change awaits for them, that they can rise up above their circumstances, and that they will have somebody to walk with as they struggle through.