Devotions from Trevor Hudson’s book, Discovering Our Spiritual Identity

How do we demonstrate this self-giving love as Christ followers?  One way is to forgive those who have done evil against us. Jesus died forgiving those who had crucified Him. We are asked to forgive those that are hard-to-forgive too. We may begin by expressing our hurt and pain but then we must go on to see ourselves as capable of hurting others too. As we accept ourselves as fallible and sinful, we become less judgmental. We become more aware of how we also need God’s mercy. The crucial step in forgiveness is to inwardly release those that have offended us from the evil they have done. This means letting go of the right to retaliate. “Forgiveness overcomes evil. It brings liberation from resentment, release from bondage of the past hurts, deliverance from bitterness, and the freedom to live fully in the present moment.”