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N. T. Wright is a leading New Testament scholar currently at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Prior to his position at St. Andrews, N. T. served as the bishop of Durham in the Church of England. He is the author of numerous books including Justification, Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, and Evil and the Justice of God—the book from which today's reading is taken. N. T. and his wife, Maggie, have four adult children and three grandchildren.

Forgiveness doesn't mean "I didn't really mind" or "it didn't really matter." I did mind and it did matter, otherwise there wouldn't be anything to forgive, merely something to adjust my attitudes about.

Nor is forgiveness the same as saying, "Let's pretend it didn't really happen." This is a little trickier because part of the point of forgiveness is that I am committing myself to work toward the point where I can behave as if it hadn't happened. But it did happen, and forgiveness is looking hard at the fact that it did and making a conscious choice—a decision of the moral will—to set it aside so that it doesn't come as a barrier between us. In other words, forgiveness presupposes that the thing which happened was indeed evil and it cannot simply be set aside as irrelevant. Along that route lies suppressed anger and a steady distancing of people who no longer trust one another. A much better plan is to put things out on the table and deal with them.

This week's Key Study Passage: Romans 12:14-21

Adapted from Evil and the Justice of God (IVP, 2006) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Prayer for the Week

Heavenly Father, thank you for being a loving God who daily extends grace and mercy! Forgive me for those times I refuse to let go of anger and bitterness. Give me the grace and mercy needed to forgive those who've wronged me.

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