“We spend all our lives finding ways to cover up that deep, radical sense of inadequacy. . . . Why all these things? They are fig leaves. . . . These are desperate efforts to deal with the sense of unacceptability — of unlovability — we all have. But fig leaves don’t work. . . […]
“By not forgiving, I chain myself to a desire to get even, thereby losing my freedom. A forgiven person forgives. This is what we proclaim when we pray ‘and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.’ This lifelong struggle lies at the heart of the Christian life.”- Henri Nouwen, […]
“There are frameworks of thought within which forgiveness can find no home. Forgiveness entered the world along with the recognition of divine and human worth . . . of rights. of duty, of guilt. It cannot occur when those are not recognized.”- Nicholas Wolterstorff, Justice in Love “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time. […]
“The discoverer of the role of forgiveness in the realm of human affairs was Jesus of Nazareth. The fact that he made this discovery in a religious context and articulated it in religious language is no reason to take it less seriously in a strictly secular sense.”- Hannah Arendt, philosopher (1906-1975) In Chapter 3 (“The […]
“[We have such] impoverished contemporary understandings and practices of forgiveness in modern western culture. . . . If all that matters is individual autonomy, then forgiveness and reconciliation — which are designed to foster and maintain communion — are of little importance.”- L. Gregory Jones, Embodying Forgiveness (1995) Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 2 of Forgive […]
“What lies behind this conflict over forgiveness? All the complaints around forgiveness assume definitions and models of it that indeed can be problematic. It is not enough, then, to simply call people to be more forgiving.”- Timothy Keller In Chapter 2 (“The Fading of Forgiveness’) of Forgive, Timothy Keller critiques the three current models of […]
“The human need for forgiveness appears indelible. It won’t go away by denouncing it or trying to deconstruct it. The need I’m referring to is both a profound need to grant forgiveness and to receive forgiveness. . . . Forgiveness gets down to the bottom of things — to the alienation we feel from God […]
“Mindless, reactionary acts of forgiveness do not lead to the freedom we long for. The options before us as people desiring to follow Jesus are not just extending forgiveness or withholding it. The only option is to figure out how to extend it in ways that honor our dignity, attend to our wounds, and reflect […]
“Most of us have prayed [the Lord’s Prayer] in some way before. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that we might have said the right words but our hearts were praying something altogether different. And understandably so, because forgiveness is a crucifixion.”- Rich Villodas In Chapter 8 (“The Gift of Forgiveness: Honestly Breaking the […]
“Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.”- Corrie ten Boom, survivor of Ravensbruck concentration camp “I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not […]
“Even the most imperfect, messy forgiveness filled with hesitation and resistance is better than letting bitterness have its way with your heart. The sum total of even the smallest inklings and considerations of forgiveness is always better than one moment of full-on bitterness.”- Lysa TerKeurst In Chapter 14 (“Living the Practice of Forgiveness Every Day”), […]
“Humanity without humility makes true forgiveness impossible. Humanity rises up and demands that I be declared the right one, the good one, the victimized one. . . . Humility bows low and claims the greatest victory a human can ever grasp: God’s prize of peace.”- Lysa TerKeurst As Lysa TerKeurst moves on in Chapter 13 […]