A version of this post first appeared in Light Reading, our weekly email newsletter. If you would like to receive messages like this every Sunday, please send an email to info@ChristInst.org.
One reason we watch professional athletes is because they give us an opportunity to observe peak human physical form. Whether they're playing baseball, basketball or competing in the Olympics, those performers are among the fastest, strongest, most precise people alive. Their competition is a delight to watch in part for what it implies about human potential and achievement. We might never encounter such struggle in our daily lives, which makes it all the more thrilling in the watching.
And yet, there are some things that seem much more mundane than those feats of physical prowess, but they can feel no less challenging in the doing. Forgiveness is something that can take tremendous effort. We know it's better to forgive than hold onto something negative, but it can be hard for many of us to actually do. Sometimes we just don't want to forgive.
There are different reason why forgiveness can be difficult. We might feel we're showing weakness if we forgive someone who did us wrong. We might feel they that whatever wrong they did us was too much, and they aren't worth our compassion. And when we hold grudges, we can get invested. We commit to our perceived correctness and the hurt we've felt, to the anger, resentment and bitterness. It's hard to let go of that kind of investment, especially if it lingers for a long time. When we're holding tightly to something so emotionally charged, it can become a part of who we are.
But there is another thing that happens when we hold onto grudges: They hold us back. When we fail to forgive, we fail to move on. We stew in the past where we were hurt or wronged, sticking our heels into the temporal dirt. The only problem is that reality doesn't stop moving. Creation moves; that is its nature. Planets spin. Plants stretch toward the sun. We can't stop that no matter how hard we entrench ourselves. So to forgive is not just to move on--it's to join the rest of creation.
To fail to forgive is to stagnate while the rest of reality evolves, matures and becomes. Forgiveness propels us forward in our lives. We can move on, and in doing so, we too can grow, progress and become what we were meant to be. In that way, forgiveness is directly related to assuming our destined selves. It is a consciousness expanding practice that causes us to leave our limited perspective—where our perception stops at our own pain—and commune with the rest of humanity and the Divine.
When we forgive another person, we recognize that that's what we'd want if we were in their place. When we do wrong, it's a pretty safe bet that we want forgiveness for it. We want understanding. We want compassion. Perhaps we want to make amends, but that's part of the process of being worthy of forgiveness. So when we forgive someone else, we are acknowledging our common humanity, our potential for both mistakes and for compassion.
Forgiveness also puts us in touch with divine understanding. Throughout the Pauline letters to the Colossians and the Ephesians, the point is repeatedly made that forgiveness is a spiritual virtue because it's what God does. So when we forgive, we are behaving like God. Accordingly, to forgive is to assume Christ identity and to align oneself with the natural motion of the universe, with the transcendent mind of God.
To forgive is not to excuse bad behavior, nor is it to forget something that happened. Rather, forgiving is the process of acknowledging our own flaws, permitting our own compassion, and moving forward with a renewed sense of strength, humility and maturity. No matter how difficult achieving forgiveness can feel, it is ultimately a positive process, one that helps us shed the negative, earthly weight that pins us down to our lower natures. Instead, it is a spiritually quickening practice that allows us to ascend to our higher, truer Christ natures, which is wisdom that has reappeared throughout the ages. The 18th century English poet Alexander Pope probably put it best: To err is human; to forgive, divine.
Let us pray:
Dear God,
“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
May we feel the weight of those words.
May we forgive because we are generous;
May we forgive because we are compassionate;
May we forgive because we are as one.
May we forgive and be like Christ,
Quickened in spirit and ascending in form,
Channels for your Mind and Presence and Peace.
Amen.
“Man was born rich in goodness, blessed with love, empowered with kindness and compassion. Through these qualities he appreciates life and all that is embodied within its scope. This appreciation is the source of inner sight, mental discernment, great inspiration, and realization of Divine Presence and the eternal value of humanity.” - Hanna Jacob Doumette, “Psalms For Today”
