Popular quotes about Forgiveness! Wisdom and inspiration are here!
Forgiveness does not mean that we suppress anger; forgiveness means that we have asked for a miracle: the ability to see through mistakes that someone has made to the truth that lies in all of our hearts. Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness. Attack thoughts towards others are attack thoughts towards ourselves. The first step in forgiveness is the willingness to forgive.
Marianne WilliamsonMany of us understand giving, but some of us may still be confused about the meaning of forgiveness. Some people may go through life in a groveling mode, mistakenly believing they have to receive forgiveness from others. Forgiveness offers more than a reprieve granted to us by another person. True forgiveness is a process of giving up the false for the true and allows us to rid our thinking of rigid ideas. We can develop the flexibility to change our mind and our behavior patterns to higher and greater expressions and find new avenues to freedom.
John TempletonGod has left sin in the world in order that there may be forgiveness: not only the secret forgiveness by which He Himself cleanses our souls, but the manifest forgiveness by which we have mercy on one another and so give expression to the fact that He is living, by His mercy, in our own hearts.
Thomas MertonGenuine forgiveness is participation, reunion overcoming the powers of estrangement. . . We cannot love unless we have accepted forgiveness, and the deeper our experience of forgiveness is, the greater is our love.
Paul TillichIt is hard to imagine a world without forgiveness. Without forgiveness life would be unbearable. Without forgiveness our lives are chained, forced to carry the sufferings of the past and repeat them with no release.
Jack KornfieldJesus' forgiveness of our sins is the single most impactful part of the gospel, and when we forgive others who sin against us we're shining his light most brilliantly. Every act of forgiveness brings a touch of Heaven to Earth, and it makes the gospel look as otherworldly and supernatural as it is. Forgiveness is constructed in the DNA of the persecuted.
Johnnie Moore, Jr.If a person has done wrong, is conscious of what he has done and does not say sorry, I ask God to take him into account. I forgive him, but he does not receive that forgiveness, he is closed to forgiveness. We must forgive, because we were all forgiven. It is another thing to receive that forgiveness.
Pope FrancisForgiveness isn't an end in itself. The point of forgiveness is to remove the barrier that stands between us and God so that He can give us His Spirit and bring us into His everlasting family.
Darrell BockWe achieve inner health only through forgiveness - the forgiveness not only of others but also of ourselves.
Joshua L. LiebmanThe spirit must be freed from tethers so strong and feelings never put to rest, so that the lift of life may give buoyancy to the soul. In many families, there are hurt feelings and a reluctance to forgive. It doesnโt really matter what the issue was. It cannot and should not be left to injure. Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals. George Herbert, an early 17th-century poet, wrote these lines: โHe that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need of forgiveness.โ
Thomas S. MonsonEverything you go through can be a lesson for you. Lack of forgiveness can manifest itself in different ways -in some lives it can be through sickness in someone else's life it can be through a bad attitude -or maybe through torn relationships and being angry all the time. I don't know how unforgiveness will manifest itself in your life, but what I can tell you is: it isn't worth it! All of us have done something we need forgiveness for.
Thelma WellsThe rich...should beg the poor to forgive us for the bread we bring them. Healthy people sometimes feel they need to beg forgiveness too, although there is no reason why. Maybe we simply ask forgiveness for not being born where these poor women have been born, knowing that if we lived here too, our fate might well have been the same.
Jonathan KozolThis doctrine of forgiveness of sin is a premium on crime. Forgive us our sins means Let us continue in our iniquity. It is one of the most pernicious of doctrines, and one of the most fruitful sources of immorality. It has been the chief cause of making Christian nations the most immoral of nations. In teaching this doctrine Christ committed a sin for which his death did not atone, and which can never be forgiven. There is no forgiveness of sin. Every cause has its effect; every sinner must suffer the consequences of his sins.
John RemsburgParenting changed for me when I finally realized it's not about being a perfect parent trying to raise perfect kids, but rather, family life is a collection of sinners slowly growing together toward Jesus Christ as we rub shoulders, yield to his grace, ask for forgiveness and offer forgiveness, and are shaped accordingly.
Gary L. ThomasForgiveness is not saying that the one who hurt you was right. Forgiveness is stating that God is faithful and he will do what is right.
Max LucadoAdmittedly, repentance is not always easy; I suppose it would not be true repentance if it were. It can also take a longer time than we think or hope. There can be missteps along the way, when we falter or lose heart, but we can reset our course and move forward again, even if it is only one small step at a time. As well as praying for forgiveness, we can also plead for courage, and it will come. If we do so, steady but surely, we will rise from the miry depths of sin and emerge into the sunny uplands of forgiveness and hope.
David S. BaxterForgiving someone does not mean you condone their behavior. The act of forgiveness takes place in your own mind. It really has nothing to do with the other person. The reality of true forgiveness lies in setting ourselves free from holding on to the pain. It is simply an act of releasing yourself from the negative energy.
Louise HayWe can teach a good, formal lesson on forgiveness as a Christian virtue and all the doctrines that are attached to it. But to be in a real-life situation, a work camp or a trip or some other activity with young people where real forgiveness needs to happen, that's a different situation altogether. And that is where the deepest learning will occur.
Parker J. PalmerForgiveness doesn't sit there like a pretty boy in a bar. Forgiveness is the old fat guy you have to haul up a hill.
Cheryl StrayedTime eventually convinces most of us that forgiveness is a virtue. Conveniently, cowardice and forgiveness look identical at a certain distance.
Jonathan NolanI use my work as catharsis. That's often the best thing that we can do, is to allow ourselves to rage because it's so rare that we get to. We're told to forgive - I don't want to! I don't want to forgive my abuser! I don't care to and I don't like that assumption that forgiveness makes me a better person. It's not authentic to me, my feelings and what I need. But everyone has their own way.
Margaret ChoGrudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on
Criss JamiRamadan is a month whose beginning is Mercy, whose middle is Forgiveness and whose end is Freedom from the fire.
Louis FarrakhanIt is important not to suppress your feelings altogether when you are depressed. It is equally important to avoid terrible arguments or expressions of outrage. You should steer clear of emotionally damaging behavior. People forgive, but it is best not to stir things up to the point at which forgiveness is required. When you are depressed, you need the love of other people, and yet depression fosters actions that destroy that love. Depressed people often stick pins into their own life rafts. The conscious mind can intervene. One is not helpless.
Andrew SolomonBrother Lawrence expressed the highest moral wisdom when he testified that if he stumbled and fell he turned at once to God and said, 'O Lord, this is what you may expect of me if You leave me to myself.' He then accepted forgiveness, thanked God, and gave himself no further concerns about the matter.
Aiden Wilson TozerForgiveness is not generally something that you find as a coin to be used by politicians.
Desmond TutuThe essence of the miracle of forgiveness is that it brings peace to the previously anxious, restless, frustrated, perhaps tormented soul.
Spencer W. KimballForgiveness is the giving and so the receiving of life. the latter may be an impulse of a moment of heat; whereas the former is a cold and deliberate choice of the heart.
George MacDonaldGandhi was right: if we all live by 'an eye for an eye' the whole world will be blind. The only way out is forgiveness.
Lewis B. SmedesJudgement is the forbidden objectivization of the other person which destroys single-minded love. I am not forbidden to have my own thoughts about the other person, to realize his shortcomings, but only to the extent that it offers to me an occasion for forgiveness and unconditional love, as Jesus proves to me.
Dietrich BonhoefferForgiveness is the choice to see people as they are now. When we're mad at people, we're angry because of something they said or did before this moment. By letting go of the past, we make room for miracles to replace our grievances.
Marianne WilliamsonYou will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.
Lewis B. SmedesTwenty-nine years ago, I came to faith in Christ after a gentleman from the Gideon's International gave me a free copy of the New Testament Bible. I started in Matthew and read all the way to Ephesians 2 when it finally clicked for me. After reading about salvation by grace through faith, I cried out to Jesus for his forgiveness and surrendered my whole life to Him. At that moment, I became a new person.
Craig GroeschelChristianity, with its doctrine of humility, of forgiveness, of love, is incompatible with the state, with its haughtiness, its violence, its punishment, its wars
Leo TolstoyIn some ways, I am actually quite optimistic - I believe in the possibility of redemption and forgiveness.
Jesse MichaelsThe pearl whose possession separates man from beast, the pearl which is the rarest find - the best among virtues - is forgiveness.
Kedar JoshiTo stand in the presence of God, that is what the Gospel is. The Gospel is not primarily about forgiveness. Itโs not primarily about good feelings. Itโs not primarily about power. All those things are byproducts, sparks. Itโs primarily about the presence of God.
Timothy KellerEvery year during their High Holy Days, the Jewish community reminds us all of our need for repentance and forgiveness.
Billy GrahamThe weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. For the least sin, it wouldn't take us longTo get so we had no one left to live with.For to be social is to be forgiving.
Mahatma GandhiI knew that my heart and mind would always be tempted to feel anger--to find blame and hate. But I resolved that when the negative feelings came upon me, I wouldn't wait for them to grow or fester. I would always turn immediately to the Source of all true power: I would turn to God and let His love and forgiveness protect and save me.
Immaculee Ilibagiza