Forgiveness is extremely important to us as Christians. We all have sinned (See Romans 3:23) and deserve to go to Hell, however Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.  Jesus forgave us and it’s important for us to forgive others. Sometimes we may encounter people in life who intentionally try to do things to upset us. We may also encounter people who mistakenly do things that upset us. In both cases, it’s important to show forth forgiveness. Holding a grudge is not Christ-like, we should not allow ourselves to be bitter towards other people.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” - Matthew 5:44.

When dealing with the topic of forgiveness, one question that may come up is, “how do I forgive someone?” For instance, maybe someone has been hurt by another person in a way that has been hard for them to get over. In a situation like that, the person who was hurt can pray for the person who hurt them. By praying for the person, it can help take the focus off of what the person did to hurt them. Jesus Christ can change anyone, so we should never view someone as a “lost cause”. It may seem difficult to forgive a person, but it can definitely be done. If a person is having a hard time forgiving another individual, they can also ask God to help them in that regard. It’s important for us to remember to pray about the situation and cast our cares upon Christ (See 1 Peter 5:7).

“To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.” - Daniel 9:9

If we ever start to feel like another person doesn’t deserve forgiveness from us, we can think back to the many times God has shown us (and continues to show us) mercy. Unforgiveness can result in us not moving forward in our own lives. We shouldn’t allow another person’s actions to cause us to disobey God. So as we continue to grow in our walk with Christ, let us remember to forgive others.