Finding it “impossible” to forgive someone who was deeply important to you in your past, either at work or long before you were old enough to work, and badly harmed you? Does anger towards them continue to grip your heart?
Maybe, in God’s economy, felt grief must precede forgiveness.
As we work through anger to sadness and emotional catharsis, we may find ourselves remembering those who hurt us, often those we loved most, and begin to see them in a new light.
While we may not forget what they did to us, we also remember how much we loved them (or even wanted to love them) and as we weep, a strange and often unexpected thing happens; our hearts soften towards those people. This is because grief can run even deeper in us than anger, if we let it, and it is anger that ultimately keeps us locked in unforgiveness.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)
