suppose that I have been wronged in some way, hurt or offended, and am faced with the question of forgiving the one who hurt me. I have two things to think about, one inward and the other outward. The first is to get to the stage where I can prevent the wrong from damaging me by letting it go inwardly. This involves being prepared to let it go outwardly when appropriate. And when is that? When the offender repents. Then I must (as a Christian, certainly) let it go publicly so that the repentant wrongdoer knows that I have forgiven him.
