When Chris Carrier was ten years old, he was taken into a swamp near his home in Florida and was stabbed repeatedly with an ice pick, and then shot through his temple with a handgun. Miraculously, hours later he woke up with a terrible headache, unable to see out of one of his eyes. He was then picked up and taken to the hospital. Years later, Chris’ abuser laid on his deathbed and Chris,surprisingly, went to comfort and forgive him. Everett L. Worthington, Jr. wrote in article on Chris Carrier, “Unforgiveness, by contrast, seems to be a negative emotional state where an offended person maintains feelings of resentment, hostility, anger, and hatred toward the person who offended him. I began with Chris Carrier’s story because it is such a clear
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Lewis once wrote, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” In the book “The Shack” by William P. Young, the main character Mackenzie Allen Phillips tragically loses his daughter Missy. Throughout the book, Mack comes to a time in his life where forgiveness is not the easiest choice. Forgiveness is used in “The Shack” when Mack had to forgive himself, Missy’s killer, and …show more content…
After many talks with God, he understood that he had to forgive himself because God had forgiven him. In the book, God says to Mack, “I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it” (p.120). 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Lyn Reed says in an interview on forgiveness, “Forgiving does not mean forgetting. In fact, I suggest it would be a healthy thing if we did not forget. That way it’s less likely we will allow ourselves to be victimised again. Forgiveness is not an event. It is a process. Something we go through, work out and resolve. In the end, we may feel we can never totally forgive the other person. But we can work on minimising our negative feelings” (Reed,1). After his encounter with God, Mack had to learn to forgive himself just as God
Lewis once wrote, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” In the book “The Shack” by William P. Young, the main character Mackenzie Allen Phillips tragically loses his daughter Missy. Throughout the book, Mack comes to a time in his life where forgiveness is not the easiest choice. Forgiveness is used in “The Shack” when Mack had to forgive himself, Missy’s killer, and …show more content…
After many talks with God, he understood that he had to forgive himself because God had forgiven him. In the book, God says to Mack, “I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it” (p.120). 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Lyn Reed says in an interview on forgiveness, “Forgiving does not mean forgetting. In fact, I suggest it would be a healthy thing if we did not forget. That way it’s less likely we will allow ourselves to be victimised again. Forgiveness is not an event. It is a process. Something we go through, work out and resolve. In the end, we may feel we can never totally forgive the other person. But we can work on minimising our negative feelings” (Reed,1). After his encounter with God, Mack had to learn to forgive himself just as God