寬恕

We are commanded by Jesus to forgive others, even those…especially those…who have wronged us. He commands us to do so, because, when we forgive, especially those who have wronged us terribly, we are most like him.

主耶穌吩咐我們要寬恕他人，特別是那些冤枉了我們的人。他吩咐我們這樣做是因為，當我們寬恕那些極大程度冤枉我們的人的時候，我們就更象他。

Forgiveness does not mean that we make believe the injustice never happened, or make light of it. It means we cease harboring ill against the other. We let it go.

寬恕不是要我們相信不公正的事情從來沒有發生，或試著淡化它。寬恕是要我們停止記恨，不再記掛。

It does not depend on our ability to bring the other to the same realization. We cannot control the other. We can only control ourselves.

我們沒有能力讓那些傷害我們的人有同樣的醒悟。我們無法控制他們。我們能控制的只有我們自己。

Our forgiveness must commence regardless of the other. We can only make the decision for ourselves to move to the center. We cannot force the other to take that same step.

無論對方怎樣，我們必須先行寬恕。我們只能促使自己做決定，我們無法強迫別人做同樣的事。

Forgiveness is not for the weak.

寬恕不是弱者的表現。

A barrier to forgiveness is our sense of justice. If we forgive the other and move on, where is justice? But this is why forgiveness is so hard. It is easier to forgive if we feel some guarantee that justice will be delivered in the near future. But that is not forgiveness.

不能寬恕的原因是我們對公義的訴求。如果我們寬恕了對方，那麼公義何在？這就是為什麼寬恕如此艱難的原因。當我們知道在不久的將來會有審判的時候，寬恕對我們來說會容易一些。但這不是寬恕。

Forgiveness looks only within, what we can do. It does not think of what should be done to the other.

寬恕只注重我們自己能做什麼，而不去思想對方將受到怎樣的懲罰。

When we focus on the injustice that has been done, it will become a dominant thought, and so we might be tempted to be God』s instrument of justice, to help things along.

當我們總想著要怎樣懲罰對方的時候，我們就會被這樣的想法控制，從而受到誘惑，試圖替天行道。

But we should be careful in our zeal about seeking justice, for God is an impartial judge. If we call upon him to bring justice to our offender, he will begin with us. So we should not call down justice upon the other. The role we have been given is to forgive. Justice is what God will do, mercifully.

當我們熱切尋求公義審判的時候，要非常小心，唯有神是全然公義的。如果我們呼求神審判別人，他會先行審判我們。因此我們不要呼求神去懲罰別人。我們的責任就是寬恕；審判，罰罪是神要做的事，他有他的恩慈。

When we forgive, we are reminded of the mercy that has been shown to us. When we forgive even the most malicious of acts, we begin to see–only then can we see–how we have been forgiven.

當我們寬恕他人的時候，我們就會經歷到神對我們的寬恕。當我們寬恕最惡毒的行為時，我們開始知道，也只有在這時我們才知道神是怎樣地寬恕了我們。

When we forgive, we know God more clearly.

當我們寬恕的時候，我們更清楚地認識神。

Even when the wrong done to us carries with it such an overpowering sense of malice, when we are filled with disgrace, humiliation, isolation–even then we forgive. Especially then.

特別是當我們忍受極大的惡毒，倍受羞辱，孤獨，去寬恕的時候，

Because, When we feel this way, we have the privilege of feeling what Jesus felt–disgrace, humiliation, isolation,

神就借著這樣特殊的經歷，讓我們親身體驗主耶穌曾忍受的羞辱及孤獨。

and When we forgive, we are most like Jesus.

當我們寬恕的時候，我們更象我們親愛的主。

Forgiveness is deciding what kind of person you want to be, what kind of life you want to live. It is a decision whether to be more or less conformed to the image of Christ. That decision is before us more often than we might think.