October 1, 2026
On his deathbed, Ramon Narvaez, the 19th-century prime minister of Spain, was asked by a priest, “Does Your Excellency forgive all your enemies?” “I do not have to forgive my enemies,” answered Narvaez, “I have had them all shot.”
While that may be the response of a few tyrants throughout history, there are better options. Take, for instance, the amazing actions of an Olathe, Kansas attorney. For several years at Christmastime, James Conrad forgave several past-due debts owed to him by clients, ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
He did this for two reasons. 1) He realized debt creates bondage, and that forgiveness should not only be spiritual, but physical as well. 2) These unpaid bills were causing resentment in his life.
With Christmas approaching, many of those months behind in payments would receive the following letter: “Your bill, a copy of which is enclosed, is hereby forgiven in its entirety. In exchange, I would ask two things of you… First, would you forgive me if I have offended you during or since my representation of you? Second, would you, during the next month, forgive at least one person who owes you money or has offended you? May you have a most blessed Christmas and New Year! "
What a remarkable gesture, especially given many of our preconceived notions regarding lawyers. That said, it brings to mind these words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matthew 5:14,15 NASB).
On another occasion, Jesus told a parable about a king who had a slave that owed him a very large amount of money. When the slave begged for mercy, the king “felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:27 NASB). The forgiven man then encountered a fellow slave who owed him a much smaller amount by comparison. Sadly, when the man was unable to pay, his debtor physically attacked him and had him thrown into prison. The king was furious when he found out what happened and had the man turned over to torturers until his debt was paid.
The king in this story represents God, who mercifully forgave a debt we could never pay by allowing His Son to die on the cross. In turn, God expects us to forgive those who have offended us. If we fail to do so, our fate becomes the same as the unforgiving slave in the parable. That’s not to say that unforgiveness is the unpardonable sin, and thus a ticket to hell. However, a life characterized by continual unforgiveness provides strong evidence of a heart untouched by Christ.
Jesus not only preached and taught about forgiveness, He modeled it as well. Among His words spoken from the cross, He prayed this regarding those who took part in his execution, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
This all raises several questions. 1) Have you received the forgiveness that God paid so dearly for through the death of His Son? 2) Do you harbor any unforgiveness in your heart? 3) Is there someone you need to contact and ask for forgiveness?
Reminded of a vicious deed done to her in the past, Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, acted as if she had never heard of the incident. “Don’t you remember it?” her friend asked. “No,” Barton responded, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.”
Part of “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead” means that you forgive those who have wronged you and “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13,14 NASB). True peace will elude you until you settle all aspects of forgiveness in your life.
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Todd Gaddis is a semi-retired minister living in Athens. He continues to serve as an interim pastor and can be reached at jtoddgaddis@gmail.com.
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