In 1982, John Hinckley Jr attempted to take the life of President Ronald Reagan by shooting him with a handgun. Reagan’s daughter, Patti, later recounted what she learned from her father when he was in hospital: ‘My father said he knew his physical healing was directly dependent on his ability to forgive John Hinckley…It showed me that forgiveness is the key to everything…He gave me an example of Christ-like thinking.’ Sometimes the wounds that others inflict on us are unintentional, and other times they are deliberate. But in both cases the Scriptures give us a clear standard concerning the wrongs we experience. You are to forgive those who hurt you, ‘even as God in Christ forgave you’. That’s a high standard, but it’s one that brings healing for our deepest wounds. Sometimes we dispense forgiveness like a soft drink from a vending machine – mechanically, and with no feelings attached. But the Bible says two attitudes should accompany forgiveness: kindness, which is expressed in our actions, and tender-heartedness, which is expressed in our attitudes. Why? Because that’s the way God forgives us. Throughout Scripture we find emotions such as kindness, gentleness, compassion, and tenderness – in word or by action – ascribed to God. We also find examples of it in the lives of those God used to fulfil His plans and purposes. Joseph was one of them, when he forgave his brothers who betrayed him. And He calls on us to do the same. This kind of forgiveness is as much an act of the heart as it is an act of the will.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.