Power to Forgive

Jesus emphasized how we should be willing to forgive others, using powerful imagery in Matthew
18. We can read:
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Peter was looking for a chance to extend limited grace, more of a legalistic way to make him feel better about accommodating his unforgiveness, perhaps - yep, 7 times will do it, right!?!  Jesus wanted him to expand his capacity to love, basically saying that you keep doing it, not trying to keeping score, essentially, but loving people unconditionally, no matter what they may do to you. We are not called to hold grudges or walk around in bitterness, weighed down by anger - God wants to set us free, receiving His forgiveness and granting it to others.

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There is a particular attitude that we can possess and radiate as children of God, even when people do horrible things that affect us.  We can stand in the love of Christ and be willing to overcome hatred
and bitterness with forgiveness. Colossians 3 says:
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Cherry Pie Picache is an actress from the Philippines, who has illustrated for television viewers the power of forgiveness.  Not only are we forgiven through Christ, but He gives us the ability to forgive others - without limitations!

That has been the challenge for Picache - her mother was brutally murdered when she was 75 years old.  According to Faithwire:

Michael Flores confessed to the killing of 75-year-old Zenaida Sison at her home back in 2014. High on methamphetamines, Flores broke into the house early one morning and stabbed Sison to death.

The story says that Picache went on ABS-CBN, described as "the Philippines largest news network" recently. There, she "opened up about how her Christian faith has enabled her to offer forgiveness to the killer."  She related how she began to think about forgiving her mother's murderer:

“I was asking for forgiveness, I still sin everyday!” she told the network.

“I’ve realized, how can I possibly ask for forgiveness when I cannot forgive.. if there is so much hatred and pain in my heart. So that’s the thing that led me to think about forgiving,”

She was told by "spiritual mentors" that forgiveness was a "process:"

“It was a pathway to forgiveness,” Picache explained. “It was in my heart and my mind that I wanted to forgive. I was asking people to pray for me.. that I might eventually forgive him.”

The actress also noted that she asked to pray for the killer during court proceedings, but still held bad feelings towards him.

Slowly, God began to soften her heart. “I prayed, I fasted,” the actress said, determined to forgive the man who took her mother’s life. “You must have needed the Holy Spirit,” the anchor replied.

Then came the dramatic and emotional meeting in prison, when Picache decided to take off the shackles of unforgiveness, once and for good.

She told him, “I am now forgiving you; you can now also forgive yourself. You should have confidence that God has also forgiven you..."

We recognize that forgiveness is a powerful force.  Through the forgiveness that we can receive through knowing Christ, we can experience the freedom and assurance that comes from knowing Him.  That the God of the Universe would actually forgive us of our sins is a wonderful gift.  And, it has implications for our horizontal relationships.

Know that there is no sin too great that God cannot forgive, and He gives us the capacity to forgive.  As this Filipino actress did - my goodness, her mother had been brutally murdered by this man, yet she chose to extend Christ's love and forgiveness to him.  But, she took it a step forward and told him how he could experience God's forgiveness and how he could forgive himself.

Picache, or Cherry Pie, decided to let God "soften her heart," as the article says.  Anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, these are all powerful forces, as well, and can serve to keep us from experiencing God's love, from allowing His love to flow through us.  It is God who can give us a new heart, a tender heart, a heart full of sensitivity to the needs of others, even when we believe they have wronged us.