Forgive and you shall be forgiven...

I don't think I know of a harder but more essential virtue than forgiveness. I have also seen it as very controversial yet it is such a very basic thing to do.

Somebody once told me that you cannot move forward without forgiveness. That said it doesn't mean that you let somebody off the hook, it gives you peace. Now I totally agree with the first part but totally disagree with the second bit. I would argue that this is not forgiveness, but moving on.

True forgiveness means you consign the sin to eternal forgetfulness like God does. After all, isn't that what being christian is all about, being Christ-like? Now that said, I'm not that nieve that some sins are harder to forgive for us than others but I would like you to bear a few points in mind. None of us are perfect, all of us fall short of God's grace at some point.

Consider a man in the bible that hated Christians with a passion, he threw men and women in prison just for their belief. It kind of reminds me of situations going on around the world today. He would stand by and watch innocent people being stoned to death for believing in Jesus. What an awful man!!! Yet through love and forgiveness he became the most celebrated Saint in the Bible. Not only that, he wrote a lot of it. Yes, St Paul was once a very dangerous man. Yet, he was imprisoned and beheaded for spreading the word of God. Can you imagine this?

The most evil people are still loved and forgiven by God when they ask for it. It says in Mark 2:17 "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

You know, one thing that sticks in my mind. In John 8, the Bible tells the story of how Jesus said to the crowd who were about to stone the adulteress "Let him without sin cast the first stone." That alone made me think seriously how I judged people in relation to my own faults. This especially comes to mind when I read the posts on social media. It's a very sad thing when people condemn people out of hand.

I am a very big believer in rightful punishment but when the punishment has been dished out that should be it. There's even a chapter in the bible written by St Paul that says this. Just go to 2 Corinthians 2: 5-11. If you read this you'll understand where I am coming from. If not, the next time you can't forgive or wish someone to be punished for their sins ask yourself if you can cast the first stone. Remember, God treats all sins the same.

Here's a helpful passage from the Bible: Luke 23 31-43