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Are you struggling to forgive someone who has injured you? Are you having a hard time forgiving yourself? C.S. Lewis had this to say about forgiveness: "I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him." Genuine forgiveness is not a thin surface patch on a relationship, but an inner change of heart toward the offender. Too often we think we have extended forgiveness, but we continue to harbor ill will or resentment toward others. Matthew 18:21-22says, “Then came Peter to him (Jesus), and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.” This is how often you and I should forgive ourselves or those who have harmed us. The number seven was not to set a limit on the number of times to forgive (Psa. 119:164), but exactly it meant the opposite. Jesus was stating that forgiveness should be granted unendingly. The phrase “seventy times seven” speaks of innumerable times! Paul told the Ephesian believers: “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). Do you need forgiveness? Are you having trouble forgiving and forgetting? Here’s how our Heavenly Father forgives:
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