What if?

OK so you have made up your mind to forgive the person who wronged you so horribly. What if they do not desire forgiveness? What if they are not sorry for what they have done? Hmmmm…Should we forgive them anyway? I always go to the Bible for answers like that. God is a loving God but He is also a just and righteous judge who adheres to the law. We are taught unequivocally that there must be punishment for sin.
There are no” if”, “and”, or “buts” about it. God so loved the world that he gave His Son as a sacrifice for all of humanity’s sins conditional upon repentance and acceptance of His sacrifice. It is easy to be forgiven of our sins. All we have to do is REPENT of our sins and believe in and accept Jesus as our Lord. If we refuse, then we are left alone to account for our sins from a holy, awesome, righteous and just God and the punishment for our sins according to the Bible is death and eternal separation from God in a dismal place called Hell.

As I look at this example, I wonder if it applies to us. What if someone is not repentant? Say they continue doing you harm at every opportunity and not only do they not feel bad about it, they actually revel in it?
My first inclination is to say there is Biblical scripture that indicates that we should “shake the dust off our feet” as we spurn them.
Then after my flesh cools down I take another approach. I would be very careful about this thinking as the Bible states that in order to be forgiven of our own sins we must also forgive those who have sinned against us. It also tells us not to set ourselves up as judges. Our holy God knows our hearts and everything about our innermost feelings and thought processes. We do no possess that unique ability. We are not God and judging is not our job. We are instructed to be forgiving far more than we are instructed to shake the dust off of our feet.

Is forgiveness conditional upon the other person feeling sorry for what they have done? Forgiveness may be more about “us” than the other person when you think about it. Jesus instructed us if we have something against someone we should forgive them during our prayers. We are to have a peaceful forgiving spirit in order to obtain peace in our own lives. We cannot be forgiven ourselves unless we are willing to forgive others. I’m not willing to bet my forgiveness on shaking the dust in most situations. I suppose there are isolated times when Christians should just turn their backs upon those who are anti-Christ in their beliefs and/or behavior and have no thought of being sorry for their actions against us, God, or humanity, and maybe for this chosen few people we should just kick some sand in their face as we leave them to wallow in their misery…Its human to hate them for it, but God wants us to continue praying for them. It is called grace and it is harder to understand than any concept, but I thank God for it!


Psalm 86:5
For you Lord are good,
and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all
those who call upon you.