The Importance of Forgiveness

From a previous post, you know that I spent years as a pagan. The form of paganism I was a part of was known as Germanic Heathenry, also sometimes called Asatru. I have talked in other places in the past about it's lack of compassion, and I have been quick to blame a lot of my issues on that. The honest truth is that I was partly to blame. Following my father's death, I blamed God for what had happened. I went through years of being critical of Christianity. I saw God as unloving and uncaring. No one, but myself had turned on the religion of my childhood.

Before I even became Heathen, I had become a person that was not very nice. I was selfish, caring only about myself. I turned to alcohol, and to a lesser degree drugs. By the time, I converted to Heathenry, I had already turned my back on my Savior. And part of the reason I turned to Heathenry was the very reason I am now critical of it. Heathenry allowed me to be the person I had become. Instead of finding a religion that would cure me of my woes, I had found one that would encourage them. I lacked compassion, and so I turned to a religion that also lacked it. And one of the things I turned away from was forgiveness.

Forgiveness is an important part of Christianity. We are to to forgive others. To me, at the heart of forgiveness is giving others the chance to change. Everyone has issues in their past that they would rather forget. Issues that they have long since atoned for. Forgiveness is allowing them to show that they have indeed changed. That is the same chance God has given us. The chance that by being born again, one has truly changed. I know for myself I have tried hard to change. I still have problems. I still blame others for what in all honesty I should accept full responsibility for. I still engage in behaviors I should not. But I am trying to change, and I want others to see I have changed. Forgiveness allows us to allow others to show they have changed just as it allows them too to change. Forgiveness allows us to let go of a past of sin, and look to a future of living with Christ.