they know not what they do

 

Today we read from these verses in the One Year Bible:

Judges 7:1-8:17
Luke 23:13-43
Psalm 97:1-98:9
Proverbs 14:7-8 

Let's look at Luke. Jesus says from the cross: "Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do." The people yelling at Jesus and taunting Him on the cross, those who nailed Him up there, had no idea that they were mocking God. Jesus forgives them, and asks God to forgive them because they don't realize the great evil they are doing.

In a similar way, the people in our lives who hurt us don't know what they're doing. We none of us know what we're doing fully. We're all operating in our own flawed vision of the universe, and hurting one another, even if on purpose, without full understanding of what we're actually doing to the other person.

So we, like Jesus, need to forgive those who hurt us, and for the same reasons. They know not what they do.

God, thanks for showing us what forgiveness looks like.