Why Forgive?

By
Johann Christoph Arnold

Foreword by
Steven D. McDonald

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Copyright 2007 by Plough Publishing House
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All Rights Reserved
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There is a hard law...
When an injury is done to us,
we never recover until we forgive.
A l a n P a t o n

Contents
Foreword ......................................................................................... vi
Prologue......................................................................................... viii
The Cancer of Bitterness.........................................................................1
Believe in Miracles..................................................................................5
Ending the Cycle of Hatred...................................................................10
Bless Your Persecutors............................................................................16
Forgiveness and Justice..........................................................................24
The Deeds of Mercy..............................................................................32
When Reconciling Is Impossible ..........................................................40
Forgiving in Everyday Life.....................................................................45
Forgiveness and Marriage......................................................................54
Forgiving a Parent ................................................................................60
Blaming God ........................................................................................68
Forgiving Ourselves...............................................................................73
Accepting Responsibility.......................................................................78
Not a Step, But a Journey......................................................................83
Epilogue .........................................................................................95
The Author......................................................................................96

Foreword

S t e v e n D . M c D o n a l d

Twenty years ago, while on duty as a plainclothes police officer in New
York City, I was shot multiple times. I'm not going to tell you the details
here-you'll have to read this book if you want the whole story. But I will tell
you this: I spent the next year and a half in a hospital bed, and for most of that
period my situation was touch and go. I came very close to dying, and when
I'd pull out of those patches, I wasn't always sure I even wanted to live.
Fortunately I received a great deal of love from family, friends, and supporters,
which helped pull me through those difficult days. And six months
after I was shot, something gave me a new focus and strengthened my will to
live: my wife, Patti Ann, gave birth to our first child.

Shortly after Conor was born we had a press conference. I still could not
talk because of my gunshot wounds, so Patti Ann spoke for both of us. She
told everyone how grateful I was to be alive; and how proud I was to be a
member of the NYPD. She said that as a police officer I had always wanted
to help others, and that being paralyzed hadn't change that desire. Then she
announced that I had forgiven the young man who had tried to murder me.
Everyone seemed astounded, and ever since that day I've had people ask
me, "Why? Why did you forgive him?" They say, "I can't even get along with
my sister" (or their brother, or mother or dad) "and they haven't really done
anything to hurt me. They're just mean. So how on earth could you do such
a thing?"

Again, I'm not going to get into the details here, except to say that I needed
healing-badly-and found out that the only way forward was with love.
And I learned that one of the most beautiful expressions of love is forgiving.