Forgiving / core value*

Matthew 18:21-22 "Then came Peter to him and said Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times but, Until seventy times seven."  I was thinking more on the subject of forgiving others their wrongs/trespasses against us: I thought of the three women in Cleveland Ohio, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus who were held captive for ten years by Ariel Castro. It is a terrible crime that was committed against these three women. I can hardly imagine how hard it would be to try and forgive a man like Ariel Castro if I were one of his victims. The Bible does in many different scriptures on this subject point to the need to forgive. It doesn't do anything for Ariel. It doesn't let him off the hook. Not only will Ariel face civil justice, someday he will face Godly justice. Forgiving does free up the victims. As awful as this situation was, the Bible teaches that we must forgive. I personally would need God's help to accomplish this if it were me. As I have stated before, to forgive is not optional. As Christ forgave me by his death on a cross so many years ago. He paid the price for my sin and yours, but it does require that we forgive those that sin against us. I believe these women will also need God's help to overcome this awful, awful crime committed against them. But I believe if we just ask, God is more than willing to help us thru anything. It is so much easier to talk about things like this than it is to live it. Most of us do not face terrible things like this but we still need God in our lives to overcome our own obstacles. I believe those three women are long ways into their journey of recovery from what I read in the papers. May God bless and help Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus in their recovery. I also believe there could be Godly forgiveness for a man like Ariel if he were to ask. He would still need to face the consequences of his crime. Each of us still has to stand before God someday and answer for the life we have lived. I hope this blog does not offend anyone. I used a current event to illustrate the importance and need to forgive. To forgive is not optional, it is necessary. God bless, LVZ.