Forgiveness Is the Greater Gift

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Forgiveness is the Greater Gift According to Dr. Robert Enright, the founder of the International Forgiveness Institute, the definition of forgiveness is “to offer love to a person in the face of injustice, and at a time when that person is most unlovable.” Although forgiveness is sometimes not easy to give, it is a greater gift than most gifts received. This is particularly true with family, where forgiveness goes hand-in-hand with unconditional love. An important lesson on forgiveness is taught in The Holy Bible, New King James Version, and comes from the parable – a story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson -- “The Prodigal Son” in Luke 15:11-32, which was written around 40 A.D. Although written long ago, this story still resonates today because even with all our advances in the world, we are still an imperfect society. Even in the darkest hours, family is the one constant that will give support and love. The story of “The Prodigal Son” is about the love that a father has for a child even after that child has sinned against him. The younger of his sons wanted to live his own life, so he asked for his portion of his father’s estate. His father complied, and the son took off to a foreign land, where he wasted the money on parties and living extravagantly. After the money was gone, the son was abandoned by the friends that he met along the way. He became destitute and was forced to take a job feeding pigs to survive. He finally realized the mistakes that he made and knew that he had to go back home to his family and ask forgiveness. Unconditional love means that you are given love freely without limitations even if at that particular time you are not worthy of the love and forgiveness bestowed upon you; this is usually when the forgiveness is most needed and appreciated. This is presented in the story when the son is on his way home. Even
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