Nations launch wars, governments persecute, institutions reinforce hatred, but the children of God forgive. It is this very act that removes the grave clothes of bitterness, animosity and remorse while simultaneously exposing the vestiges of hope, faith and a new beginning.

The greatest single action any human can take upon this planet is the act of forgiveness. Nelson Mandela inviting his former captors to the his Presidential inauguration, Gandhi’s call to for Hindus and Muslims to reconcile, alongside many other extensions of this greatest of virtues, remind us that in the 21st Century, when war, terrorism, strife and hatred inundate every crevasse of our narrative, forgivers are scarce participants.

Accordingly, mature and balanced relationships at all levels: personal, corporate, bilateral, geopolitical, economic and ecclesiastical require forgiveness to exercise mercy in the presence of justice. Forgiveness without justice grants evil clemency. From the holocaust to Rwanda, from Darfur to Serbia, justice facilitates forgiveness where jurisprudence speaks on behalf of the innocent without acquitting evil.

Those who stand responsible for atrocities must receive the legal and moral consequences of such actions. Soon thereafter, the victims are called to forgive while the rest of us are admonished never to forget. Atrocities prove we are fallen creatures, imperfect and prone to cruelty. Forgiveness proves we are still children of a righteous God.