Such a thorny issue. A lot of well meaning Christians believe that this means forgiving anyone.... regardless of what they have done or whether they have sought forgiveness or not. We are (according to some) to forgive....willy nilly. Thereby proving ourselves to be "sanctified".

When our LORD Jesus was on the cross - He forgave the thief who asked for forgiveness. Jesus also asked for forgiveness for those who didn't know what they were doing. They were acting out of total ignorance. Our beautiful LORD asked for ignorance to be forgiven. VERY TELLING. And very beautiful. This makes my soul sing. Although we are promised that the gospel will be preached to all four corners of the earth before the end comes - I often think about the brainwashed. The ignorant.

I do NOT forgive Hitler for what he did to the Jews and to the world. Hitler NEVER expressed regret or asked for forgiveness. If he had begged for forgiveness and really, really meant he was sorry - we would be contractually obliged to grant him forgiveness. Regardless of still being FURIOUS and "sorry does not make it all better" type emotions - we are required to forgive.

However - I do not believe we are expected to be martyrs to this huge expectation. For instance - if somebody hurts us emotionally and intentionally - I don't believe we are expected to forgive automatically. Without forgiveness being requested. If somebody you love - who has the power to hurt you - is truly sorry and asks for forgiveness, we should forgive. And not harbour any bitterness. But , if they are not sorry....why the heck should we forgive them? I have learnt that we are to give ourselves a break. We are not blemish free. We are human. And if someone is not sorry and does not ask for our forgiveness - even though they have hurt us! We are to dust ourselves off and move on.

As much as it hurts, we are not destined to be doormats. Caving in, just to keep the peace. This invites emotional abuse.

Just as our LORD Jesus forgave the thief who expressed sorrow and asked for forgiveness - we are expected to do the same.