The definition of Forgive:
1 a: to give up resentment of or claim to requital for <forgive an insult>
b: to grant relief from payment of <forgive a debt>
2: to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) : pardon <forgive one's enemies>
intransitive verb: to grant forgiveness
The words that compose forgive are "for" and "give." Which makes me think of
John 3:16, FOR God so loved that world that He GAVE His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not die, but have eternal life.
He gave.
There are multiple levels of giving here. For the sake of the Father's love for the world, he gave His son. For the sake of the Son's love for the father and the world, He gave himself. For the sake of His love the Father gave/gives His Spirit. For the sake of the Spirit's love for the Father and the Son, the Spirit gives Himself to live in us. (Dwelling on all this giving is such a joyful thing. I highly recommend it.)
You can see the gift of the Spirit tangibly in this CNN article about healing in Rwanda "Woman opens heart to man who slaughtered her family." The changes in this woman's heart are amazing. (And just a shadow of the barrier God crossed when he forgave us for our sins, for murdering his Son, for waging war against Him.) PRAISE God for brothers and sisters who are GIVING themselves in forgiveness. Amen for God's work of making a way where there could be no way.
