Is there someone in your life that you need to forgive? No matter what your worldview is, it's obvious to all that the world just hurts. And for the Christian, the knowledge that we live in a fallen world is an explanation, but that doesn't soothe the pain.

 

Matt Swatzell was driving home one morning after a shift as a firefighter in EMS. He'd only slept 30 minutes in the previous 24 hours. Suddenly, he was aware of a crash. He realized he'd fallen asleep, and hit a pregnant woman driving with her young daughter. The woman was killed. Her family's devastation was beginning. And Matt Swatzell was plunged into his own hell. What could he possibly say to that woman's husband?

 

One of the outcomes of living in a less-than-perfect world is that we have to deal with emotional and physical pain. It's a fact of life. Sometimes the emotional side of it is worse than the physical side. 

 

Mark 11:25 says, “And when you stand praying if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” 

 

Wrestling with forgiveness is a tough one. Sometimes we wrong someone. Other times it's us on the receiving end of something terrible. The Bible actually has quite a bit to say about forgiveness, and the bottom line is this: it's a choice. Each one of us can choose to forgive so that the long process of healing can take place.

 

Matt Swatzel knows this very well. At his sentencing, he found that the victim's husband was a pastor, Eric Fitzgerald. Incredibly, Fitzgerald asked for leniency for Swatzel, and he got it. Later, the two met by chance in a store, and Fitzgerald was ready to forgive. He said, “You forgive as you've been forgiven. It wasn't an option. If you've been forgiven, then you need to extend that forgiveness.” Their video story has been viewed millions of times in the last few years, and it proves one thing. You can choose to forgive the most vicious wrong, and that's up to you.

 

Let's pray. 

 

Father God, sometimes the hurt is too much to bear. Choosing to forgive is one of the hardest things we can do, but help us to choose this path so that healing on all sides can begin. In Jesus' name. Amen.