“How many times do I need to forgive my brother?” Peter asked. Wouldn’t it be simpler if he’d been told, “If someone sins against you three times, you’re off the hook; it’s totally reasonable to withhold your forgiveness after that.” I’m thankful “reasonable” is not the standard when it comes to forgiveness though – I’d be maxed out on forgiveness, whether it was 3, 7, 77, or 70x7 forgiveness-es we were allotted!

How many times have you tried to help someone work through personal problems and found them getting “stuck” at some point along the way? One area where this often happens is in the process of forgiveness and healing from past hurts. Many of us, despite our best intentions, have had times when true forgiveness just seemed out of reach. Sometimes forgiveness feels too much like letting the other person off the hook. Or we try to forgive and move on, but something happens and the old hurt and anger flare up as strongly as ever.