An Apology

There is an old saying...

To err is human, to forgive, divine.

Forgiveness is an action that carries with it a great deal of meaning, a great deal of thought as well as some measure of divinity. When an individual errs, makes a mistake or needs to be forgiven, that person has done something which is human. We all err from time to time, we all make mistakes, and we all need to be forgiven... Now the other end of the equation, the forgiveness is what interests me.

When we are given the opportunity to forgive another person for their mistakes, we are given a great deal of power. Having the right to forgive someone is a powerful drive, it places the "ball" in the victim's court. It shifts the power balance so that the wronged becomes the one who can further perpetuate wrong, or who can make things right again.

This means that forgiveness has a great deal of power indeed. When a person is able to truly forgive another for any mistakes that were made, the victim ends the cycle of errors that makes up what has thus far composed our existence as humans. We continually make errors, and we continually seek forgiveness for these errors... Traditionally, we have found this forgiveness within organized religion, or within spiritual pursuits, or from our fellow humans.

When God gave us the power to live, to think, to reason - we received a multitude of gifts that accompany these basic building blocks. The ability to reason and think have enabled us to overcome many of our physical limitations... if you look back only a few thousand years, how many people would have lived lengthy lives without perfect sight? Nowadays many people live long lives even with terrible eyesight. This is not because the importance of vision has decreased over the past millenia, but rather because we have become able to use our other gifts to overcome a previous limitation.

Forgiveness is the same way. We are limited in ability, in our physical and spiritual lives. However, we have been granted the ability to overcome our limitations. Because when we truly forgive another... we gain forgiveness for ourselves.

We all do make mistakes, and when another person asks us for our forgivness, we are given a power that only God can truly delegate... and he has delegated it to us.

This may be why many victims of crime take so long to heal... because the power to forgive has not been given to them... if someone wrongs you, and they do not ask for your forgiveness... the power remains with them... The sins of their actions also remain with them, the spiritual burden also remains with them... but by remaining unrepentant, the victim loses their ability to touch the divine aspect of their existence.

So, remember to forgive others... if they ask for your forgiveness... It's what God would do.