Forgiveness, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”

Surrender to the word of God not to self.

Christians, unconditional forgiveness is scriptural and it is the scriptural expectation Jesus Christ demonstrated in partnership with scripture. Jesus Christ was a trailblazer in forgiveness. “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. Luke 23:34

We must forgive the unforgivable in order for God to heal the unhealed pain within us. This is why we must self; “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates” in the sin of not forgiving others.   2 Corinthians 13:5 

Forgiveness is not conditional but unconditional.

Forgiveness is like a key you need in this life to unlock and release yourself from bitterness and being hurt from what happened yesterday while standing in the presence of today."Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”  Isaiah 43:18

Not forgiving someone will keep you in a perpetual state of malice, evil speaking, anger, mean spiritedness and hate. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:"

James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Ephesians 4:31 "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" Sad to say, the state of non forgiveness if you are a Christian, will keep you out of the kingdom of God and outsource you to hell because you are unlike Christ with a Christlessness disposition.

I personally choose to forgive and forgiveness has many layers, like an onion. Stay strong and stay focused in scripture. Scripture is a builder of forgiveness but it will take time.  A few years ago I had to forgive the unforgivable.

Be patient with the forgiveness process which is designed to refine you with the determination to not have situations define you. Psalm 86:5 states “for thou, Lord, art good, and  ready  to forgive; and 

plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. 
Matthew 6:14-15 declares “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses "We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. 

"He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness. Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly. Certainly people make mistakes in their life. I'm no different, I've made mistakes. When people mess up, we forgive them. When I mess up, I ask for forgiveness. Many promising reconciliations have broken down because while both parties come prepared to forgive, neither party come prepared to be forgiven. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”. Martin Luther King, Jr., Marianne Williamson,  Lawrence G. Lovasik,  Michele Bachmann, Charles Williams , Mahatma Gandhi 

If you are a Christian I pray you will forgive those who have done the unspeakable and the unthinkable. Listen to this song to transition you to be scripturally present to forgive.