I’m sure it’s plain to you that I love to write. I actually have several reviews
written at Amazon.com. One of the products I reviewed is the movie
Spider-Man 3. I entitled my review “There are many reasons to watch this
film.” I won’t rehash the whole review, but I do want to share one short
paragraph that I wrote.
“The topic of forgiveness is a very key theme in this film. We all need forgiveness at one time or another and I don’t think I ever remember seeing a Hollywood movie where forgiveness is so clearly presented to the viewer. Suffice to say, this movie is worth viewing for no other reason than to see pure, undiluted forgiveness on display.”
The reason I am bringing this up is because forgiveness is at the forefront of my mind; I had to practice it again today. The details of what happened are not important (in the grand scheme of things it was a minor offense) but it was painful, and it made me angry. But ultimately, I made the decision to forgive the person that offended me.
Maybe you are saying, “Kevin, I doubt that you were hurt as deeply as I was. You already admitted that it was a minor offense.” As I’ve said in other blog installments, some of you reading these words could tell me stories of the ways you have been hurt that are much larger in comparison to mine.
That said, however, whether it’s a large offense or a small one, we have to remember the words of the Bible. To give just one example of the many commands to forgive, Jesus said, “If he (that is, your brother) sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (Luke 17:4). I know that revenge, retaliation, and bitterness are the natural responses. Yet the Biblical reaction is to extend forgiveness. Is it easy? No. Is it necessary? Yes.
Kevin Bauer
“The topic of forgiveness is a very key theme in this film. We all need forgiveness at one time or another and I don’t think I ever remember seeing a Hollywood movie where forgiveness is so clearly presented to the viewer. Suffice to say, this movie is worth viewing for no other reason than to see pure, undiluted forgiveness on display.”
The reason I am bringing this up is because forgiveness is at the forefront of my mind; I had to practice it again today. The details of what happened are not important (in the grand scheme of things it was a minor offense) but it was painful, and it made me angry. But ultimately, I made the decision to forgive the person that offended me.
Maybe you are saying, “Kevin, I doubt that you were hurt as deeply as I was. You already admitted that it was a minor offense.” As I’ve said in other blog installments, some of you reading these words could tell me stories of the ways you have been hurt that are much larger in comparison to mine.
That said, however, whether it’s a large offense or a small one, we have to remember the words of the Bible. To give just one example of the many commands to forgive, Jesus said, “If he (that is, your brother) sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (Luke 17:4). I know that revenge, retaliation, and bitterness are the natural responses. Yet the Biblical reaction is to extend forgiveness. Is it easy? No. Is it necessary? Yes.
Kevin Bauer
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