Not long ago I met an old enemy I had forgiven, and I actually missed the emotional rush I once had when he was an enemy. I tried to recover the feeling, but it was gone. I could not muster up an ounce, of ill-will, no matter how hard I tried. I celebrated the victory of forgiveness, but there was a part of me that grieved the loss of an enemy.
Complete forgiveness is a superhuman act, but it is worth the effort.
You would be surprised at how much it lightens the load. The Old Testament limits forgiveness to three occasions of offense, whether it is an offense against God or another human being Our spiritual forebears believed that on the fourth offense, God would not forgive, and humans should not The New Testament knows no such numerical limit to forgiveness. When Peter asked Jesus how many times one should forgive an offense, he proceeded to answer his own question. He generously took the Rabbinical formula of three, doubled it and added one for good measure, and suggested to Jesus that seven times would be appropriate. Expecting to be commended for his generosity, Peter must have been shocked by Jesus' answer.