Forgiveness & Meaning It

I started reading a new book this past weekend called "Power Through Constructive Thinking". A section of the book is titled "The Lord's Prayer". It is the most important document of all the Christian documents.

Reading a passage about "The Lord's Prayer" something has struck me. It's the part about forgiveness. "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us". I have never thought of the ramifications of this simple sentence until reading this book. Thinking about that sentence, we are inevitably obliged either to forgive our enemies in sincerity and truth, or never again to repeat that prayer.

This clause in the prayer means that you have to truly forgive in order to be forgiven. How many times do I forgive with conditions? How many times do I say I forgive but then never forget the trespass? These are questions I'm asking myself.

Mahatma Gandhi said... "Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it stands than to anything on which it is poured". True forgiveness involves forgetting, letting it go, and moving on.