The anniversary of the tragedy in Pennsylvania and the discussions of the ability of the Amish to forgive has me thinking about forgiveness. The Bible tells us to forgive one another as we were forgiven by God through Jesus. Unfortunately, in my view, the ability to forgive was not an inherent gift from the Almighty. In fact, lack of forgiveness may be the greatest human flaw.
Think how differently human history would read if we could forgive one another: wars unfought, feuds forgotten, relationships unbroken. Iraq would be one united peaceful country. Israel and Palestine would quietly share their rich history. Divorce rates would drop. And on, and on, and on.
I think forgiveness must start with each individual. Ah ha! There's the rub. When I look at myself, I know I do not forgive. I can pay lip service to forgiving but deep in my being, I still harbor feelings of resentment and hurt. For me to truly forgive, I would also have to forget. And that part of my memory has not faded yet. I wish it would. Or that the Amish would share their secret with me.
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