Many of you saw or heard that Erika Kirk has forgiven the assassin who killed her husband, Charlie. I have heard people say, how can she do that. To understand how, we must know what biblical forgiveness is. Jesus prayed forgive us our debt as we forgive our debtors. When someone hurts or harms us they have incurred a debt to us, to forgive is to release that person from their debt. It is a  decision to no longer hold a wrong against that person. It is a matter of the will and not of emotion. In fact, the emotional fact that I have forgiven someone comes much later, as I have to constantly remind myself that I have forgiven that person.

To forgive a person who has hurt me, I must trust God and know that vengeance is His. If the person is a Christian who hurt me, I ask myself how much more must Jesus suffer to satisfy me. If the person is not a Christian, I ask how much more hell will that person have to endure to satisfy me. The answer is nothing more, for either Christ has, or they will from God pay for any harm they have done to me.

Forgiving people is a sign that I have been forgiven When I truly understand how much God has forgiven me in Christ and the mercy he has shown me, it makes it easier and desirable to show mercy to others. Forgiveness in the long run is also what is best for me. If I continue to hold onto hurt, it will lead to bitterness. Bitterness has often been described as drinking poison and hoping it kills the other person. Unforgiveness leads to bitterness and bitterness only harms me. Forgiveness does not mean that the person who harmed me does not have to suffer consequences, they just don’t have to suffer any from me.