Saturday, June 11, 2011

Forgiveness - The Greatest Gift



This you tube clip is very inspiring .... very touching ....

I have just finished reading a book titled THINK NO EVIL : Inside the story of the Amish Schoolhouse shooting and beyond by Jonas Beiler with Shawn Smucker. Read here to find out more.

It was the most amazing book to read. So moving in the way that the Amish people dealt with the terrible tragedy that happened in their community. We could do much to learn from their attitude and the way in which they embraced their beliefs, acting with no malice towards the family of the man who gunned down 10 girls in an Amish school house, wounding 5 girls and killing 5 others.

The most moving and truly inspiring thing of all was the way in which they reached out to the shooters family and did what they could to comfort his family at a time when most people in the world today would have been thinking only of how they could exact revenge.

I have always believed in forgiveness and know that it is the right thing to do. I strive to always forgive others. I'm not saying it's always easy, because it isn't. Owing to the fact that we are human beings, it is our nature to be offended and hurt by what others do to us. It is not easy to take the high road and forgive when we have been wronged. Most people would feel that forgiving someone who has wronged them so terribly is allowing that person to just 'get away with what they have done' .... but it isn't and forgiveness is so much more than that. I firmly believe it's a gift that we not only give the person who we forgive, but more importantly it's a gift that we give to ourselves.

Forgiveness is not about saying "what you did was okay", but rather it is about freeing ourselves from the tie of the wrong that has been done to us. It allows us to let go and move on, which is possibly the most important gift that we can give to ourselves. Forgiveness is an act of love, love for ourselves. It takes strength and courage to forgive another, but oh the rewards are enormous.

In forgiving we can find peace and hope in the world, for ourselves and for others. It allows us to be free of the burden of holding on to what has been done to us, it frees us from the torment and pain that we may harbour and allows us to move forward.

As a Christian I follow the Saviour's example and strive to forgive as he would forgive. I strive to forgive because that is what he asks of me. I do it willingly, not because I have to, but because I want to. To me he is the greatest example of forgiveness that their ever was and ever has been. I am so grateful to the Saviour for the wonderful example that he has set me .... an example that I can follow. He did not just ask me to forgive, but he forgave those that wronged him, without question.

2 comments:

Kris said...

Thank you so much for sharing President Faust's talk. I loved watching it again!

Lotti said...

I loved this talk, it was wonderful. Such a powerful message when combined with the circumstance of what the Amish went through. What a truly wonderful example of forgiveness they are. I cried as I watched this .... found it very moving.