Never Forgive or Forget

I am sitting in my "other office" right now...you guessed it. Moxie Java. I was working on Andrew Night for a while but this guy across from me is wearing a shirt that is distracting me. It says "We will never forget or forgive. 9/11/01". This got me thinking about forgiveness. In high school youth two weeks ago, the topic of forgiveness came up. The consensus was that it is hard to forgive yourself. If we have trouble forgiving ourselves, it's no wonder we have trouble forgiving others.

This guys tshirt might not be "kind" but it's pretty honest. When someone hurts me, my reaction is to harbor that pain, dwell on it, and get defensive. I don't just extend a heart of forgiveness as I should. I have that Peter attitude from Matthew 18. "How many times am I supposed to forgive?" Isn't there a statute of limitations on this?

I think this is one of the reasons Jesus was so radical. He would look at someone who had been hurt (the woman at the well) or had hurt others (Zaccheus), then just forgive them. It's uncomfortable and invasive. It's amazing and heart changing. When Jesus looks at you and tells you that you are loved and forgiven, something breaks free within. The hard shell of jaded life cracks. Then bit by bit you learn to forgive. You get hurt. You look back at Jesus, urging you to love. Then bit by bit you extend your heart, knowing that you - the chief of sinners - has been forgiven.