Forgiveness

A question we may ask ourselves is can we truly forgive our enemies? Now, this question could be interpreted differently to some people. Truly forgiving our enemies for something they have done could be the easiest and hardest of things.

In my opinion, we should be able to forgive our enemies for anything they have done. If Jesus Christ was able to forgive us after all the people that have done harm to him, shouldn’t we be able to? If we follow the true Christian way, we should forgive them and pray for them so that they won’t make the same mistake.

For example, a man named Steven McDonald in New York City. He was a policeman who loved his job. Steven McDonald stopped to question three young people in Central Park one day in 1986, he was shot and paralyzed from the neck down. Steve had been married less than a year and his wife was two months pregnant.

His attacker was Shavod Jones. This meeting had just changed both Steven McDonald’s and Shavod Jones’s lives. After all that Shavod did to Steven, he decided to just write to him. Shavod did not respond to Steven’s letters until much later. Steven felt sorrier for Shavod than himself. Shavod then began to respond the letters he had sent him. Steven forgave Shavod.

In 1995, Shavod was then killed in a motorcycle accident and Steven was glad that he was able to tell his enemy he forgave him than not to at all. He now even prays that he is okay wherever he may be.

Another example was when I was little. I was best friends with this girl and I told her everything. After telling her most of my secrets, we ended up fighting and she told everyone my most personal secrets. We were mad at each other, so I did the same back to her. After all that time of fighting, we finally realized we were fighting over absolutely nothing. I also found out she never told any of my secrets, but I only told my other friends one of hers. We apologized and until this day, we are still friends and we have not fought with each other lately.

In conclusion, forgiving someone is not easy to do, but we should always forgive them because if Jesus was able to forgive us, why can’t we forgive each other?

Even though someone might have killed someone you truly care about, holding a grudge on them will do absolutely nothing to bring them back. We should all forgive each other and respect one another. Hopefully, our world will be a better one.