How quickly should I forgive? When I think about forgiving someone, I tend to think about a particular situation in the 2 and 3 year old class at church.
Two little boys who are best buddies were about to sit at the table together. I don’t know what happened, but they suddenly had an argument. They turned their backs to each other and stated that they would not sit next to each other. “I don’t want to sit by him!”
So I crouched down next to them and said, “But you’re friends, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you forgive each other and sit by each other?”
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you. Let’s go sit by each other!”
And that was it. That was all of it. Whoosh! Forgiven! I think they even forgot what the argument was.
So how quickly should I forgive? As quickly as a child who wants to sit next to their best friend.
Sometimes it isn’t that easy. But if you let God help you and you let go of your hurt and pride, you can forgive that quickly. In some cases you may have to go through a process of forgiveness. That’s okay, as long as you keep reminding yourself that you have forgiven, and that God has given you the strength to release the offense. God knows all about forgiveness (Luke 23:34).
Be quick to forgive. Drop the offense at the speed of forgiveness.