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Forgiving the Unkind: How Christlike Compassion Heals a Hurting World
By Doreen Virtue
Excerpted from Daily Forgiveness Devotional
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32
It’s easy to be kind to those who are kind to us. Yet, God’s Word exhorts us to be Christlike. On the cross, Jesus forgave those who tortured and killed Him. God forgave us of our sins through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross.
We aren’t just called to forgive—we are commanded to forgive. This does not mean we forget or become close to those who’ve hurt us. Forgiveness isn’t approval of sin or abuse.
With Christ’s strength, we can be healed of resentment, bitterness, and stored rage. When we hold onto our past losses and abuses, it keeps us locked in a perpetual pattern of reliving those traumas. It’s as if the painful events keep reoccurring in our hearts.
We have all sinned against our perfectly holy God. Yet by His mercy and grace—through our faith in Jesus Christ—we are forgiven. We didn’t earn or deserve God’s forgiveness. It is a free gift of grace.
We who have been forgiven so much—may we extend Christlike forgiveness to others.
Excerpted from Daily Forgiveness Devotional
Doreen Virtue holds a Master’s degree in Biblical & Theological Studies with highest honors from Western Seminary (56 units / 2021), and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Chapman University. Prior to being saved by God‘s grace and mercy in 2017, Doreen was a psychotherapist specializing in women’s issues, rated in the top 15 most influential living spiritual teachers by Watkins, and the top selling new age author in the world. She was born and raised in new thought churches which she attended for 33 years, before segueing to new age and Wicca in 1991 while touring with a mind-body-spirit conference organization. Before her salvation, Doreen frequently appeared on Oprah, CNN, The View, Coast to Coast and other liberal secular media. After the Holy Spirit convicted her of her sins, while she read Deuteronomy 18:10-12, Doreen repented and gave her life to Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Doreen has been helping professing Christians to identify and avoid new age and new thought deception. Doreen volunteers in discipling women who’ve been saved out of New Age in a private Facebook group. Doreen was a speaker at the Answers in Genesis 2025 women’s conference at the Ark Encounter. She has been featured on American Gospel 3, American Gospel TV, Daily Wire, Moody Radio, Spillover, Christianity Today, Cultish, New York Magazine, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, Servants of Grace, and other Christian media.
