I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.
--from a letter to Miss Breckridge, 19 April 1951 C.S. Lewis
Oh man! Perhaps my college chaplain read this quote form C. S. Lewis. When she said it, and the way she said it was like a slap in the face to me. "If you can't forgive others then you have made your standard higher than God's standard. It's also damning (literally) what God says about our lack of forgiveness, and worse, our unwillingness to forgive others.
The Lord says, "If you will not forgive, then your heavenly Father will not forgive you.
--Matthew 6: 15
An important word in that exchange is the word, will. It is an act of the will to forgive someone. It is an act of the will to forgive ourselves. It is not a feeling in your heart. Feelings are difficult to control. But the will is a decision you make. God has made the decision to forgive the reader of his or her sins. It is his will.
"I will forgive; or I will not forgive." You may not feel it. So it is important to say the words over and over again until your heart catches up to your mind. You may even have to ask God for the power to forgive.
Something else has to be said to the Christian; something should be said to the one who believes that she is a follower of Christ. You may say, "It is hard to forgive," or you may say, "Under my own power I can't forgive;" but the choice to say, "I will not forgive" is not yours to make. That is if you say, "Jesus is Lord." You must forgive; there is no room in heaven for a lack of grace. The death of Jesus on the cross is too costly to withhold from others the same grace he extends to you.
You must forgive the one who has wronged you. And at times you must forgive yourself. The highest standard God expects from us is to live up to his caliber of forgiveness.
I hope in this Lenten Season you will exercise forgiveness. Put it on like a garment. Forgive others; forgive yourself.
