Forgiveness
One day, a large crowd was following Jesus and so he climbed to the top of a hill so every one could see him. He sat down on a rock, and all the people sat down on the grass around him. And then Jesus began to tell them all about God (after all, he should know, since he is God’s own son!).
“If you were a mom or a dad, and one of your children asked you for something for breakfast, would you give them a snake? Or a bowl full of spiders? No! You know better than that! And you know hardly anything about being a parent."
“Just think then. Your Father in heaven knows everything about being a good parent. When you ask him for something, will He give you something bad? Would He give you a bowl of spiders? No way! He will give you only what is good."
“Don’t you see? You already know what is good and what is bad. So always do for other people what you would like them to do for you. You know that that is good. Be good to others, just like you want them to be good to you. That is what all the laws in all the world are really all about.”
From Matthew 7:9-12
At another time, Jesus was teaching his disciples and he said to them, “Now I am going to tell you something that is hard to do.
Love your enemies."
“Even if they hate you, and do mean things to you, love them back. If someone pulls your hair, don’t pull theirs back. Do something nice for them instead. If someone takes something of yours, don’t get all mad and try to grab it back. Instead, let them have it, and be happy for them, just like you would be happy if they let you have something of theirs."
“That’s hard! But believe me, if everyone did this, it would change the world! Do for others just what you want them to do for you. If you really do that, you may just find that your enemy will become your friend.”
From Luke 6:27-31