Forgiving Those Who Do Not Know

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” – Luke 23:34, WEB

It is never easy to forgive, especially when we have been hurt so much. Even if we want to, how do we do it? Where do we start?

We can start by thinking about Jesus when He prayed for the forgiveness of those who do not know what they are doing.

It may be hard to believe. How can people not know what they are doing?

But in many cases, it is true; we do not know why we have done what we have done. We do not know why we uttered words that could hurt other people. We do not know why we failed to understand those who are dearest to us. We do not know why we failed to be more compassionate and merciful to those who are suffering.

We may be aware of the things we do, but not the entire consequences of our actions. No one may have forced us to do what we have done, but we have failed to reflect on the results of what we did. We often fail to consider other people’s feelings. Many times, we regret our actions because we wouldn’t have done them had we only known how much hurt and damage they would cause other people.

God is so merciful to us. He knows how ignorant we often are, and He offers us His forgiveness. Let us pray that we may also learn to forgive others who do not know what they do.

“…the Lord makes their ignorance the motive for his plea for forgiveness: he sees it as a door that can open us to conversion.” – Joseph Ratzinger

And I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service; although I was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. – 1 Timothy 1:12-13, WEB