Thanks for writing about this. I think one has to place themself in another's shoes when evaluating this. People make mistakes and this is part of the learning process. We live in an imperfect world and God made it that way from the beginning. So if one makes a mistake and realizes that it was indeed a mistake AND they learn from it, then forgiveness is a bit easier to grant. However, when someone does not learn from the mistake and has no remorse, that is when the challenge begins. We should still forgive this person for what they have done, but we are also obligated to try to help that person understand why what they did was not right. Albeit painful, forgiving is the right thing to do. For as you said, if we do not forgive for mistakes, if we do not learn from mistakes of our own and others', then opportunities are lost. These opportunities can never be regained, time can never be replaced. Just think back to a time when you have made a mistake with a loved one....a family member or a friend, maybe someone you didn't even know. How would those lives be different if a "better" path had been followed? I think no one could argue that it wouldn't be better for everyone involved. The amount of forgiveness we have should be infinite...May God bless us all with his grace.
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I think one has to place themself in another's shoes when evaluating this. People make mistakes and this is part of the learning process. We live in an imperfect world and God made it that way from the beginning. So if one makes a mistake and realizes that it was indeed a mistake AND they learn from it, then forgiveness is a bit easier to grant. However, when someone does not learn from the mistake and has no remorse, that is when the challenge begins. We should still forgive this person for what they have done, but we are also obligated to try to help that person understand why what they did was not right. Albeit painful, forgiving is the right thing to do. For as you said, if we do not forgive for mistakes, if we do not learn from mistakes of our own and others', then opportunities are lost. These opportunities can never be regained, time can never be replaced. Just think back to a time when you have made a mistake with a loved one....a family member or a friend, maybe someone you didn't even know. How would those lives be different if a "better" path had been followed? I think no one could argue that it wouldn't be better for everyone involved. The amount of forgiveness we have should be infinite...May God bless us all with his grace.