About Forgiveness. Forgiving that evil person

Often when I encourage others (and myself), I ask them if they have forgiven that person. The most frequent reply is, "I can (or will not) forgive what they have done to me." I then explain that forgiveness doesn't mean that person gets away with their evil deed. It does mean that it is turned over to God to deal with.

The Lord Jesus showed this: (Luke 23:34 [MKJV]) And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. And parting His clothing, they cast lots.

Likewise Stephen as he was dying because he was a Christian said: (Acts 7:60 [MKJV]) And kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

In these passages there is no hint that eternal forgiveness from God is meant. It is only to turn over that evil deed to God for Him to deal with that evil person.

A wonderful article I found explaining various myths of forgiveness includes this:

What Forgiveness Isn't

6 myths that may be keeping you from letting go.

by Denise George

I listened quietly as my friend Jamie told me the frank details of the sexual abuse she'd suffered as a child. 

"I hate my father!" she blurted out. "He abused me for more than a decade!" Jamie cried. 

"But my pastor said if I want to heal from my childhood pain, I have to forgive." 

"What did you tell your pastor?" I asked. 

"I told him I could never forgive my father, that I didn't want to forgive him, that no one—not even God—would expect me to forgive him!" Jamie told me all the reasons that kept her from forgiving her abusive father. I'd heard many of them before. In fact, I'd used some of them two years earlier, when a friend I'd trusted to keep a confidence told several women in my Sunday school class about a painful circumstance I was going through. I felt betrayed by my friend—as I should have. But forgive her? That was the last thing I wanted to do! I dropped out of the Sunday school class and avoided her at church. But a year later, when I reread what the apostle Paul said about forgiveness, his familiar words touched my heart in a special way: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32, my emphasis). 

As I meditated on that verse, I knew I'd been...

You can read the rest here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54596334e4b0780b44555981/t/547105e8e4b07726eb3bdd43/1416693224048/What-Forgiveness-Isnt1.pdf