A number of authors I’ve read and annotated have emphasized that a major reason we must forgive, even when an apology is not forthcoming, is for our own emotional well-being. Bishop Jakes refers to that concept as “writing it off”. He says we must learn that “some people will not or cannot give you what is your due. The only way you can collect your energy and move forward is to simply write it off so that you can focus on what is ahead rather than forever being tied to what is behind you.”
When we are able to write it off, we gain wisdom and experience to help us with future struggles, become stronger (not weaker) as we courageously move forward, and understand or deepen our appreciation of how God deals with our own sin.
Philippians 3: 13b-14: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
