Forgiveness, he says, is not a one-off exchange. It's a way of life, a habit of the heart, a craft learned by living together in the church. We learn this craft as we worship, as we care for one another, as we teach and admonish one another, as we struggle together to embody God's forgiveness for ourselves and the world. So much of what passes for forgiveness is just a way of burying guilt, rage, and resentment below the surface. That's not forgiveness.
Forgiveness sets people free.
Cheap grace keeps them in bondage. I know a woman who lived for years with a brutal, alcoholic man who made her life a living hell. She did what she thought was her Christian duty. She thought she was forgiving him, but what she was doing was empowering him to hold her in bondage. Eventually she grew strong enough to leave the relationship.