Time-Limited Forgiveness
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 3:31-32
Back in September, I had a challenge placed before me: forgive someone who had hurt me deeply and whom I’d held a grudge against for seven years now. Seven years of bitterness. And then someone had the heart to tell me the other night that I’m not moving fast enough in my struggle to forgive this person.
Really? Does forgiveness have a time limit? If it does…I’m in big trouble. Years of bitterness won’t dissolve overnight. If I have to go to this person right now and tell her that I forgive her, it would be a forced forgiveness…which really isn’t forgiveness at all. I’m not ready to forgive her yet. I’m getting there….slowly. Inch by inch. But is it terrible that I’m not there yet? Should I be more like my Savior, always ready to forgive?
I don’t know that my heart can be always ready to forgive. Especially in this situation. There are so many things I need to work through and so many scars that need to be torn away before I can be at a place where I can say, “I forgive you”. I can’t get there overnight. I can’t be given a time limit.
