Forgiveness= strength

A photo from the U2 concert

Gandhi said the weak can never forgive; forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. The idea of forgiveness seems to go against our very nature as humans. It feels as though we are surrendering power to another. For me, there is a struggle between knowing that forgiveness actually frees me versus wanting someone to pay for the hurt I feel. And then I think about how much I am forgiven and one would think that would be enough to convince me to freely forgive but the struggle continues. I was recently in Vancouver for the U2 concert. It was an amazing concert with numerous highlights but one in particular was when Bono started singing Amazing Grace and then all 55,000 people in the stadium sang with him. If only those words were always lived out in my life. Why is extending grace to others so difficult despite the immensity of grace bestowed on us? Here is a clip from the concert (I apologize for the quality of sound and image).