One of the things I have found amazing about the mercy of God is His capacity to forgive us of our sins and errors in judgement over and over again.

If you’re like most people, letting go of past hurt can be difficult especially when you feel someone has wronged you. I’ll be the first to admit, there was a time when forgiveness wasn’t easy for me, especially for deep seated hurts that wouldn’t heal with the passing of time.

Let’s face it, holding on to a grudge can, at times, feel comforting in moments of despair. The problem is each moment spent holding on to unforgiveness of another person only tightens the grip it has on you and not the other way around. The person you feel has wronged you, has forgotten whatever happened and moved on long ago while you’ve secretly nursed a quiet rage ready to explode at any time. The longer you hold on to it, the greater burden it becomes—an anchor around your feet, an albatross around your neck until it has reduced you to a bitter image of yourself—preventing your forgiveness, deliverance and healing so you, too, can get on with life.

There came a point in time when I learned this lesson, not because of the passing of time, but because God showed me how my refusal to forgive was slowly, but surely destroying the essence of who I was meant to be and robbing me of two relationships I needed–one with that person, the other with Christ.

During one of my morning walks recently, as I reflected on God’s grace and capacity for forgiveness, He enlightened me as He often does with an epiphany: When we forgive others and confess our sin, God’s forgiveness blesses Him, it blesses us and in turn blesses others. Think about it. How could He hold on to our misdeeds as tightly as we hold on to those of others and be the embodiment of LOVE? And how could His light, His love shine in us if His heart was darkened with all the “mess” He has forgiven us for?  Likewise, it works similarly for you and me. How can His light shine through us when we refuse to forgive others? The darkness of unforgiveness in our hearts creates a total eclipse–blocking the light of God’s love from shining through us for others to see. Yet, when we forgive, the stain of unforgiveness is cleansed by the blood of Jesus, purifying our hearts and freeing our minds. This liberation from the shackles of unforgiveness empowers us to absorb the rays of God marvelous light and in turn reflect the beauty of His love—drawing us and others closer to Him.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 KJV