Forgiveness

The lesson on Sunday is about forgiveness. I think I'm gonna introduce the lesson with this song, you know, really invite the spirit.



Ok, the lesson is over, but I wanted to share something that I learned. At the end of the lesson was a story about a woman who had been in a concentration camp during WW II. She was giving a talk in a meeting about forgiveness. At the end of the talk an elderly man came up to her and she recognized him as one of her guards at the concentration camp. She knew that out of the many prisoners who went through that camp he would not recognize her. He proceeded to tell her about how he had become a Christian since that time and was grateful for her talk because he knew he needed to be forgiven of many things. He then extended his hand and asked for her forgiveness. This woman then describes the struggle she is having in her own mind as this man is standing in front of her with his hand out stretched asking for forgiveness. She reminds herself that forgiveness is not an emotion. We are capable of forgiving no matter what the condition of our heart, because forgiving is a choice. It is not a condition of the heart, it is a choice.