The fact is that when we forgive someone we not only release them from the burden of our anger and its possible consequences; we release ourselves from the burden of whatever it was they had done to us, and from the crippled emotional state in which we shall go on living if we don't forgive them and instead cling to our anger and bitterness.

we recognize that the world as a whole needs, longs for, aches and yearns and cries out for forgiveness—for that collective, global sigh of relief that means that nobody need seek vengeance ever again; that nobody will bear a grudge ever again; that the million wrongs with which the world has been so horribly defaced will be put right at last;

Forgiveness doesn't mean that we don't take evil seriously after all; it means that we do.

Forgiveness doesn't mean "I didn't really mind" or "it didn't really matter.

I did mind and it did matter, otherwise there wouldn't be anything to forgive at all

Forgiveness is the new reality. It is the power of the revolution.

Forgiveness isn't weakness. It was and is a great strength.

The old creation lives by pride and retribution: I stand up for myself, and if someone gets in my way I try to get even. We've been there, done that, and got the scars to prove it.

Every act of love, gratitude, and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely handicapped child to read or to walk; every act of care and nurture, of comfort and support, for one's fellow human beings and for that matter one's fellow nonhuman creatures; and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel

When people who are in authority in our lives make a mistake and we are there to help them fix it, that expression of kindness allows them to accept what they did as wrong instead of needing to justify or blame. It endears them to us, and the light of Jesus Christ is clearly seen in us. The next time we give our opinion, we can be sure they will give it greater consideration because we have earned the right to be heard.

It takes time to establish trust in something or someone because it requires consistent and continuous behavior demonstrated over time. That is why our relationships are so fragile. It may take months or years to establish a high level of trust, but one act of unfaithfulness can destroy it. We can choose to forgive those who betray us, but it would take a long time to regain the trust that was lost.

You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.