Saying "I forgive" regarding those who do not know what they do reveals an awareness of the love that can take a blow in order to avoid eternal loss (and to obtain a surfeit of eternal blessing). When you extend Calvary love to those who have hurt you, I not only protect you; I reward you.
It feels like forgiveness opens the way for me to take their punishment.
Not exactly. Jesus forgave, not ahead of the persecution, but in the midst of it. Do you see the difference? His forgiveness did not cause the suffering, but that He was able to forgive in the midst of the persecution they inflicted upon Him opened a pathway for them to be redeemed. This increased His glory and did not diminish it. Do you see?
It always seems like unforgiveness builds a wall that protects.
But it doesn’t. It locks you into your pain, alone. Jesus built no walls. His physical suffering may not have been diminished by his forgiveness of those who persecuted him, but neither was it increased. His forgiveness was a choice not to condemn them for what they had done to Him. It was expensive nonetheless; to understand the mean-spiritedness that would rob you of your very life and yet to forgive is an expensive gift to provide those who have caused you harm. But—and here is the clincher—you cannot keep this gift for yourself. There is no nourishment to be had from the bitterness of unforgiveness; you can’t eat it yourself, you can only offer the relinquishment of it (forgiveness) as food—and it is a bountiful and nourishing food for those who have the humility and wits to accept it—for others.
Help me not to cling to unforgiveness out of the mistaken idea that it is protective for me, or that I can glean nourishment from it for myself. Help me to love those who have caused me harm so that I am willing to provide them an opportunity to take nourishment from my forgiveness of them through You. Let it offer them a road to You. And Lord protect me from the sin of unforgiveness, protect me from harm, watch over my life.
What you cannot provide for yourself, I will freely give you.
