Quote of the Day
Today’s quotes of the day are taken from two comments Digital Nun wrote in response to commenters on the topic of forgiveness:
Comment 1:
Some of you will know that I’ve said several times that forgiveness isn’t necessarily a once-for-all act. We may have to forgive the same offence again and again, living in a state of forgiveness, if you like; and very few of us ever have the assurance of feeling we have forgiven.
Again, forgiveness isn’t the same as forgetting. I like to use the image of the wounds on the Body of the Risen Christ. They are the wounds sin dealt and they are marked on his Body for all eternity, but they are now transformed. They have become channels of grace and healing. He can never forget us — we are, as the prophet Isaiah said, ‘graven on the palms of his hands’.
Comment 2:
Letting oneself be a doormat isn’t right. Sometimes one has to knuckle down under some very unsatisfactory situations, but that isn’t the same as placating others at the expense of self. Remember, God doesn’t make junk. Each of us has a right to our own opinions, own identity, etc. Sometimes we have to challenge others’ treatment of us, otherwise we end up colluding with bullying. Sometimes we have to accept that we are in the wrong and must back down, otherwise we end up bullying others. It takes discernment to know the difference.
Forgiveness isn’t something we can do unaided. Most of us are very bad at forgiving. We put the other on probation; or we go over the source of offence and pick at it until we destroy our own peace as well as the other’s. I’m afraid there’s no magic answer.
Tags: Christian Life
October 28th, 2012 at 7:45 pm
It is very true that forgiveness is essence of Christianity and also it is most likely many of us will have to forgive time and again same person for the same old thing repeated time and again.. at times in our humanity would not we tempted to think are we doing something wrong in allowing some one take advantage of our Christian values? That too if this sort of thing is just a way of ventilating their own frustrations on the forgiving ones. Where is the fine balance?