Total Forgiveness 1

Totally forgiving someone doesn’t necessarily mean we will want to spend our vacation with them, but it does mean that we release the bitterness in our hearts concerning what they have done.

Just as God forgives people without approving of their sin, we also must learn that forgiving people does not imply an endorsement of their evil deeds. We can forgive what we don’t approve of because that is the way God has dealt with each of us.

While we are required to forgive, we should never attempt to make what is wrong look like it is right.

An injured person can forgive an offender without reconciliation

Total forgiveness is not carried out by repressing the offensive event.

Paul essentially is saying that “love does not store a wrong,” that is, the wrong that was committed against us doesn’t go into our “mental computer” to be reckoned with later. But the fact that there is something wrong, especially if it is staring you in the face, is not to be denied. In fact, the Greek word translated “wrong” in this verse is kakon, which means “evil.” Because it is evil, it must be acknowledged. We cannot be blind to it. We should not pretend it didn’t happen. That is not what total forgiveness means.

R. T. Kendall, Total Forgiveness: When Everything in You Wants to Hold a Grudge, Point a Finger, and Remember the Pain - God Wants You to Lay It All aside (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2010).