forgiveness ...

Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite a virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.

Reinhold Niebuhr

and what is forgiveness really, but a chance to be united with Christ's suffering, as He hung upon the cross and He cried out "Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do..."
how hard it is to forgive when the other has done so, fully aware. no defences of ignorance, no defences of mistake. the wounds were inflicted on purpose, with intent to hurt.
how hard it is...

but that is precisely what makes it so precious, knowing that in spite of all the injustice and anger and pain and brokenness of this world we live in, we have the sterling example of a loving and forgiving Master who is with us every step of the way. and in its purest form, forgiveness is love. the greatest act of love for those who have rejected and torn us apart...and we are saved, first by His supreme sacrifice born of love, forgiveness and a desire for all of us to be redeemed and second, by discovering the same love and openness within us when such as life and the people around us inflict, where He resides ...