Forgiveness

Jesus talked about forgiveness a lot.  What did forgiveness mean when Jesus walked the Earth?  In its most simple form, forgiveness is a transfer of debt.  Suppose John owes Sally $500 and John refuses to pay her.  Sally pursues legal action to get her money.  She goes after John several different ways.  She is going to make life difficult for John any way she can.  This will take up a lot of Sally’s time, thought, and energy.

Now, Tom steps in.  He pays Sally the $500 John owes her and she agrees to stop pursuing John.  Now the debt is between John and Tom.  Sally is completely out of the picture.  She now has a lot more freedom.  Please note, forgiveness does not mean Sally has to lend John money again.  It is proper for Sally to set realistic boundaries.