Forgiving the Unforgivable Act

Extraneous situations are the normal mode of life. Everyone experiences the same horrible things.

We have all been and will be transgressed to the point of experiencing an unforgivable act against us. We will all be hurt beyond that which we can, of ourselves, recover. We all experience resentment for those things done against us.

So, the unforgivable act is a very common phenomenon. Indeed, we may now be able to see we are just as culpable as the next person – we have committed unforgivable acts, and no one have we transgressed more than our Lord.

It is to our benefit to understand and accept this. God knows it is good for us.

Our Heavenly Father has forgiven us. Even despite our unforgivable acts for which we continue to commit against God, we have this grace, when we have accepted the Lord Jesus’ finalising work on the cross as payment for our sin.

Again, it is to our inexorable benefit to accept what we could not do for ourselves.

But How Do I Actually Forgive the Unforgivable Act?

Forgiving the unforgivable act, having understood our own culpability in having committed our own unforgivable acts against God, is not a hard thing when done by faith, to join our will with God’s.

By our will we have strength, particularly if, by our will, we follow God’s lead.

Jesus forgave his transgressors during his Passion. Many of those who transgressed our Lord were his friends; his disciples, no less. Imagine being betrayed by those you love; those who love you. But Jesus knew it was human nature to betray and be betrayed. Although he never betrayed anyone, he knew beforehand that betrayal was part of his path.

He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

In essence, those who betray us, who speak and do unforgivable acts against us, they do not know what they are doing, not truly. We, ourselves, have so often not understood how we have transgressed others – we have missed the point from their viewpoint.

They don’t understand the consequences of their actions, just like we haven’t understood the consequences of our actions when we betrayed people.

So actually forgiving the unforgivable act is as simple as understanding the weight of hurt another person might experience as we have experienced it, because we did it to them.

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Forgiveness is not hard when we see it from another person’s viewpoint. We are not the only ones betrayed. Everyone has been betrayed.

Forgiving the unforgivable act seems to make no sense, but it is the only action in the midst of hurt that does make sense. When we can forgive the unforgivable act we derive the peace of God’s righteousness for having obeyed his will through love.

© 2014 S. J. Wickham.