Lament Forgive

Time is a terrible healer. Our memories of the disloyalty, betrayal, or abuse we’ve suffered, keep the pain fresh and the consequences ongoing. No wonder we find forgiving so hard.

Traditionally, Christians view forgiveness as a gift we offer to the people who wrong us. But this fails to communicate anything about how we can receive healing from their mistreatment of us.

If we’re to accept that forgiving others is God’s way of liberating us from the traumatic memories of our past, a reframing of forgiveness is desperately required.

And to do that, we’re going to need to start in an unexpected place: with the lament.

Revised second edition.

Steve Hall is the author of Lament Forgive, Lamentations and A Nonviolent God, and Creation and A Nonviolent God.