Dropping The Charges

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
-Luke 23:34

Back at the beginning of the year, I got this idea to look in my heart and forgive whoever I thought of.  And the way I thought about it was, dropping the charges.

I know that I am not supposed to hold onto unforgiveness against anyone.  But I found out that resentment, anger, and bitterness can easily creep into my heart.

It is easy to be judgmental towards anyone and everyone.  Being a sensitive person, who is easily hurt, makes me more prone to resentments and holding grudges that are judgments.

The way I described (expressed) and prayed was dropping the charges.  I would say, "I drop the charges against ______."

And it was funny (embarrassing and humbling) to find out how many charges there were for me to drop.  They stack up, when you live life and get your feelings hurt or take offense, or get ripped off in various and sundry ways.

Jesus' words, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," is the first of his seven words from the cross.  Jesus' example here and teaching through it blows away all of our bases for unforgiveness or resentment.

How can I not forgive anyone when my Lord showed me this?