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To forgive is to reach back into your hurting past and recreate it in your memory so that you can begin again.

To forgive is to dance to the beat of God's forgiving heart. It is to ride the crest of love's strongest wave.

Our only escape from history's cruel unfairness, our only passage to the future's creative possibilities, is the miracle of forgiving.

This article originally appeared in the January 7 , 1983 issue of Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Other stories appearing on our site today include:

Controlling the Unpredictable—The Power of Promising | When you make a promise you have created a small sanctuary of trust within the jungle of unpredictability.

Hurt, Hate, and Healing | A 1985 interview with Lewis Smedes.

Arguments in Favor of Abortion Are Strong … | … if you accept one all-important assumption.

Books written by Lewis Smedes are available at Christianbook.com.

Additional Christianity Today articles written by Lewis B. Smedes include:

How to Deal With Criminals | Is there a biblical principle behind the punishment of those who break the law? (July 8, 2002)

Keys to Forgiving | How do you know that you have truly forgiven someone? (Dec. 3, 2001)

Who Are We to Judge? | Did Jesus forbid us from judging others? (Oct. 8, 2001)

Can God Reach the Mentally Disabled? | Are mentally challenged adults whose intellectual age is probably that of a 1-year-old sheltered under God's salvation? (March 21, 2001)

Is Suicide Unforgivable? | What is the biblical hope and comfort we can offer a suicide victim's family and friends? (July 6, 2000)

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December (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46