It only stands in the way of our full freedom. And so, God opens the way for us to see our offender as our brother or sister, loved dearly by the same One who loves us. They may or may not see us or themselves in this Light. But God offers us this possibility. God offers us the amazing possibility of love.
Forgiveness is a return to love.
And the freedom forgiveness brings is the freedom both to know ourselves as loved and the freedom to express the love God has placed in us for himself and others. It is important to say that the gift of being able to see ourselves and our offender as loved brings deep clarity to acts which are less than loving. Acts which are disrespectful, hateful or abusive can no longer be ignored or minimized in any way. Such acts attempt to deny who I am and who my offender is. Such acts attempt to demean and debase and sometimes even destroy what God knows to be precious.