Forgive With Feeling

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

In 1982, John Hinckley Jr. attempted to take the life of President Ronald Reagan by shooting him with a handgun. Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis, later recounted what she learned from her father: “My father said he knew his physical healing was directly dependent on his ability to forgive John Hinckley. By showing me that forgiveness is the key to everything . . . he gave me an example of Christ-like thinking.”

The Scriptures give Christians a clear standard concerning wrongs we experience. We are to forgive those who hurt us “even as God in Christ forgave [us].” Therefore, God’s forgiveness is the model for how we are to forgive. Sometimes we dispense forgiveness like a soft drink from a vending machine—mechanically, with no feelings attached.

But Paul says two attitudes should accompany forgiveness: kindness and tenderheartedness. Why? Because that’s the way God forgave us. Throughout Scripture, we find emotions such as kindness, gentleness, compassion, and tenderness—in word or by action—ascribed to God. Yes, He forgave, but He forgave with feeling. And we should do the same.

True forgiveness is as much an act of the heart as it is an act of the will.