Everyone has been mistreated. Most of us have held a grudge. Some of us have forgiven, but didn't really want to.
Forgiveness: story of Corrie ten Boom
Lived with her family in the Netherlands
Watchmaker
In 1942, family agreed to hide Jews in their home from the Nazis
Discovered in 1944 and sent to concentration camps
Father and sister, whom she was imprisoned with, died in captivity
Corrie released on Christmas Day, 1944. A week later, women prisoners her age in her camp were killed.
Story:
“No Fishing Allowed” from "Hero Tales: Volume II" by Dave & Neta Jackson.
When the former Nazi guard approached Corrie -
+ What should she do?
+ What did she do?
Corrie ten Boom offered her forgiveness to the man, even though it was very hard.
Read Parable of the Unmerciful Servant -- Matthew 18:21-35
+ Explain this story
+ Do you think God expects us to forgive if we’ve been forgiven?
+ Do you think we are obligated to forgive if we’ve been forgiven?
+ What did the first servant do to deserve having his debt cancelled? (Nothing; God’s forgiveness is a free gift, and it is unconditional & total)
- Why is it hard to forgive others? Sometimes we think, “If I forgive him/her, they’ll think they can do it again”. Or, “If I tell them I forgive them, they’ll think they were right”?
It's not the same thing to say "It's ok to mistreat me" and "I forgive you"!
So, we need to be careful with our words -
When asking for forgiveness: always apologize - say, "I know what I did was wrong".
When offering forgiveness: say, "I didn't like what you did/you hurt me, but I accept your apology, and I forgive you." If we say "it's no big deal" or "don't worry about it" we can send the message we don't want to - that it's ok to be mistreated.
+ If we don't forgive, it hurts me worse than the person who wronged me.
Ex: being wronged is like a bruise. It heals in time. But the memory is like a brick I have to hold. Bricks need to be unloaded. Otherwise we stay weighed down.
