Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has to take the place of the victim and on his behalf demand atonement or grant forgiveness it is the one crime in which society has a direct interest.(W. H. Auden)
Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again.(Dag Hammarskjld)
As I rejected amnesty, so I reject revenge. I ask all Americans who ever asked for goodness and mercy in their lives, who ever sought forgiveness for their trespasses, to join in rehabilitating all the casualties of the tragic conflict of the past. (On Americans who avoided conscription during the Vietnam War, to Veterans of Foreign Wars)(Gerald R. Ford)
The age of Grace began in mid-Acts, after the conversion of the Apostle Paul. It is through his letters alone that we learn about the dispensation of Grace, about Israel being set aside, with Jew and Gentile being saved into the Body of Christ. It was Paul who taught 'all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses' (Acts 2121). It was also Paul who proclaimed the forgiveness of sins 'to all who would believe' in Christ, adding that 'ye could not be justified by the law of Moses' (Acts 1338-39). The measuring rod of grace tells us that the age of Grace began with Paul, then continued through those who were saved and subsequently carried on His God-given doctrines of grace.(John Fredericksen)
Get rid of imagined guilt. You did the best you could at the time, all things considered. If you made mistakes, learn to accept that we are all imperfect. Only hindsight is 20-20. If you are convinced that you have real guilt, consider professional or spiritual counseling (with a competent and trustworthy counselor). If you believe in God a pastor can help you believe also in God's forgiveness.(Amy Hillyard Jensen)
We are certain that there is forgiveness, because there is a Gospel, and the very essence of the Gospel lies in the proclamation of the pardon of sin.(Charles Haddon Spurgeon)
Through His redemptive work we are 'justified from all things' (Acts 1338,39) and now rejoice in 'the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace' (Eph. 17), a position in Christ at God's right hand (Eph. 24-6), 'all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ' (Eph. 13) and 'the hope of the glory of God' (Rom. 52), to be fully realized when we are 'caught up together...to meet the Lord in the air' (1 Thess. 417). Then will be fulfilled the desire of God's loving heart 'That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus' (Eph. 27).(Cornelius Stam)
Forgiveness does not mean the cancellation of all consequences of wrong doing. It means the refusal on God's part to let our guilty past affect His relationship with us.(Unknown)
Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say, I ask, if it matters, that you be forgiven for anything you may have done or failed to do which requires forgiveness. Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to insure any possible benefit for which you may be eligible after the destruction of your body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a manner as to insure your receiving said benefit. I ask this in my capacity as your elected intermediary between yourself and that which may not be yourself, but which may have an interest in the matter of your receiving as much as it is possible for you to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony. Amen.(Roger Zelazny)
