Forgiveness is Good for Us

God told us to forgive. He knows what is best for us. 
According to the latest medical and psychological research, forgiving is good for our soul and our bodies.

People who forgive:


a. benefit from better immune functioning and lower blood pressure. 

b. have better mental health than people who do not forgive. 

c. feel better physically. 

d. have lower amounts of anger and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. 

e. maintain more satisfying and long-lasting relationships. 


"When we allow ourselves to feel like victims or sit around dreaming up how to retaliate against people who have hurt us, these thought patterns take a toll on our minds and bodies," says Michael McCullough, director of research for the National Institute for Healthcare Research.

What Do I Have to Do to Be Forgiven?
Nothing.

That's right. Nothing.

No one could ever do enough.

At what point in time am I forgiven?
When Jesus said, "It is finished." And died.
From that moment on, you were granted forgiveness.

Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement represent one of the clearest examples of Jesus’ Matthew 5:39-41 principle in action. As they endured the southern sheriff’s clubs and water cannons without resorting to violence themselves, the evil of the segregationists’ heart was brought to light. There was enormous power in refusing to respond to the violence in the way they were expected to - with more violence. Dr. King wrote, “To our most bitter opponents we say: We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering.”

Forgiveness is the only road to freedom

We should acknowledge this morning that forgiveness is risky. It is a bit of a gamble. But it certainly beats the other option. Lewis Smedes writes, “The question is not whether forgiving is dangerous, but only whether it is a safer bet. It almost always comes down to where we get the best odds. Forgiving is risky. . .. The risk, I believe, is worth taking.”

Forgiveness does have its risks, but our only other choice (our only other ‘road’) is to hold onto the bitterness and anger. How many of us this morning could name someone who’s life has been ruined simply because they continue to hold onto a wrong done them?

Consider the following two words of wisdom: “Whoever opts for revenge should dig two graves.” (Chinese proverb)