Forgiveness - Jesus

When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

Luke 23:33-34

Sister Leonella Sgorbati, a Catholic nun who devoted her life to serving the sick and desperately poor in the most volatile regions of war-torn Somalia, knew that her work was dangerous. People who knew her say that she often joked that a bullet somewhere in Somalia had her name on it.

On September 17, 2006, that bullet found her.

Two gunmen shot and mortally wounded Sister Leonella as she made her way to a pediatric hospital in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu. As she lay dying, she used her final few breaths to forgive the men responsible for her death. “I forgive! I forgive!” she gasped in her native Italian just before she passed away.

That’s an astonishing demonstration of forgiveness—the same kind that Jesus extended to those responsible for his death.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus always did something before commanding his disciples to do it. That included loving those who hated and persecuted him (see Luke 6:27-36).

Jesus could have called on thousands of angels to destroy the world and set him free. Instead, he went to the cross willingly and obediently. He took this act of love and forgiveness to even more unthinkable lengths when he asked his heavenly Father to forgive his executioners.

Jesus freely forgave and prayed for those who harmed him. Who in your life seems eager to do you harm? Are you willing to forgive them as Jesus did?

In this life, there’s little chance that you can completely avoid feeling hurt or damaged over other people’s words and actions. When you choose to forgive and pray for those who hurt you, you have loved and forgiven as Jesus did.