How far do we forgive?

Maria loves his youngest son Mark. Every morning she wakes up she cooks his breakfast. She bathes him. She spends time playing with him. She provides him everything that a growing child need. She gives him food and shelter. She looks after his general welfare and pays all his tuition fees in school. She continues to nurture him and up-brings him to be a good person. She defends him against his siblings when jealousy over his mother’s apparent preferential treatment becomes an issue. Not that it was true because Maria loves all her children equally and without pre-conditions.

But that’s what a good and loving mother always does, you might say.

You see, Mark is not her own biological son. He is the son of his husband from an adulterous relationship he has hidden for many years. At the on-set of revelation, spiteful bitterness ruled over her heart. The years of betrayal were simply too painful to direct her towards forgiveness. But with prayers, she found God’s grace in her heart to let go of the hatred and truly forgive them all – her philandering husband and his mistress. So it is not any wonder that when the other woman decided to abandon their love-child to her husband, she was able to whole-heartedly and without reservation accept the child as her own.

The names in the story are fictitious but the story is true.
One of Mark’s brother is actually my friend who recounted his mother’s inspiring story to me a few days ago.

So how far do we really have to forgive someone?
I guess, far enough to unconditionally love that someone again.

Too tough a Christian requisite, right?
Then let our Lord’s image hanging on the cross be our source of encouragement and inspiration.
That cross is full of unequivocal and pure love.

God bless.