While most everyone agrees that forgiveness (the opposite of vengeance) is the right thing to do, there are three aspects to biblical forgiveness that offend human reason—the size, the amount, and the necessity. Let’s think about the first offense:
The Bible doesn’t have a weight limit on forgiveness. When someone sins against you, God doesn’t send a team of instrument-carrying angels to measure the dimensions of the sin or calculate its weight. Instead, God categorically says, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).
You might not be able to forget about their sin, and there may be consequences for their sin, but God still calls you to forgive. Even if she bullied you brutally. Even if your father spoke to you abusively. Even if his affair broke your heart. Even if the divorce left you broken. There is no asterisk on this passage. Just a blanket statement to forgive.
Why? Because that is exactly how the Lord forgave you. Jesus didn’t die for some sins or socially acceptable sins. No—thank God—he died for all sins and all sinners. You never have to wonder if God will get you back, no matter how big or ugly your sin, because God doesn’t limit his forgiveness. No matter the size of your sin, you are forgiven by your Savior.
In light of the cross, may God give you the strength to forgive even him. Even her. Even that.
