Whitney took this picture

I was talking to a friend tonight and I said something without realizing the truth contained in it. I said, “Forgiveness is only true when it comes before and apology.” I was amazed that this came out of my mouth. What I mean by this is that forgiveness isn’t just something you do when someone apologizes to you, but rather a reaction that comes from your heart. When we forgive someone only when they apologize we are making it conditional. Conditional forgiveness sucks. It says, “I’ll forgive you if you are sorry, but if your not I won’t forgive you.” I’m not saying you can’t forgive someone after the fact, but it’s nice to have a heart that is prepared to forgive any pain caused to you.

Now I am not saying that I have all the answers in this one comment, but I do think it is where forgiveness must begin.  I do know that the next time someone hurts me I will make it a point to forgive them before they ask for it. Jesus exemplified this perfectly when He asked God to forgive the men crucifying Him before they realized what they did. He didn’t wait for them to apologize. He just loved them before they responded. That is a great heart to aspire to. I hope that we can all come to a place where forgiveness isn’t a second thought, but rather an immediate action. Don’t keep people out of your heart because of your pride. Forgive today!