Must We Forgive?

As we near the end of our Come With Questions series, we'll wrestle with questions of forgiveness. Why do we forgive? How do we forgive? Must we forgive? What if I can't forgive someone? While we won't address every question head on, what we will do is consider a vision of forgiveness provided to us through the scriptures.

In Luke 7, as Jesus dines in the house of a man named Simon, an uninvited woman — described only as a "sinner" — washes Jesus' feet with her tears and anoints them with perfume. It's an unexpected moment that culminates with Jesus publicly declaring her forgiven. This story has something to teach us about forgiveness, love, and what it looks like to see people the way God sees them.