Forgive: a simple little word; sometimes we speak it very lightly and other times it can be so hard to say. It can be used in two important ways: forgive me, meaning I have wronged you in some way, or I forgive you, meaning you have wronged me in some way.
This word can bring peace and healing or it can bring resentment and anger. This word can be tossed around very loosely and it quite often is, then it really doesn’t mean much.
I would have to say it is a word of power that needs to be used with great caution. You might go to some person you feel has wronged you and say to them, “I forgive you” this person could be very upset with you for placing blame on them. Many times we realize we have injured someone by their response to us but we don’t always know what we said or what did that offended them
In Luke 23: 34 Jesus made a statement when He hung on the cross; “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”.
Every one of us have hurt and offended people and we didn’t even realize it. Others have hurt and injured us and they were totally unaware of it. We did not know what we were doing!
There are times we hurt others deliberately; we have been hurt and we want to hurt them in return. This is when we need to realize they did not know what they were doing. It is not easy then to say that simple little word I forgive, and mean it. You may not be able to say this word to the person, they could not receive it. You must say the word to yourself, and receive it, so you can be healed.
Forgive; a simple little word; many times I have Christians and non-Christians say; “I will never forgive that person!” I am sorry for those people; they will carry the burden of anger and resentment in their hearts until they experience the power of forgiveness and be free.