--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We forgive freely or we do not really…" description: "\"We forgive freely or we do not really forgive at all.\" — Lewis B. Smedes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgive_we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-fo_631314.png" --- # We forgive freely or we do not really forgive at all. ![“We forgive freely or we do not really forgive at all.” quote by Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgive_we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-fo_631314.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgive_we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-fo_631314.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgive_we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-fo_631314.png) > “We forgive freely or we do not really forgive at all.” [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True forgiveness requires a complete release of resentment; half‑measures are not genuine forgiveness. **In simple terms:** Real forgiveness means letting go fully. Key Takeaway Release all resentment. Themes forgiveness relationships healing Mood reflective hopeful Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - conflict resolution - personal reflection - reconciliation processes Key Concepts emotional release ethical maturity spiritual growth Questions to Reflect On - Can you identify where you hold lingering resentment? - What steps help you move toward full release? A Different Perspective Forgiveness can be difficult when deep hurt remains. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Forgiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiving/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [The rule is: we cannot really forgive ourselves unless we look at the failure in our past and call it by its right name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/the-rule-is-we-cannot-really-forgive-ourselves-unless-we-look-at-the/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The sun should not set upon our anger, neither should he rise upon our confidence. We should forgive freely, but forget rarely. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/the-sun-should-not-set-upon-our-anger-neither-should-he-rise-upon-our/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [What we forgive too freely doesn't stay forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/what-we-forgive-too-freely-doesn-t-stay-forgiven/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [To forgive freely, is what we owe to our enemy; to forget not, is what we owe to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/to-forgive-freely-is-what-we-owe-to-our-enemy-to-forget-not-is-what/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [Spoken forgiveness, no matter how heartfelt, works best when we do not demand the response we want. I mean that when we tell people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/spoken-forgiveness-no-matter-how-heartfelt-works-best-when-we-do-not/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [“Ultimately, we can really forgive people only because Christ rose from the dead; his Resurrection is the guarantee that God can cure every wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-philippe/ultimately-we-can-really-forgive-people-only-because-christ-rose-from/) [Jacques Philippe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-philippe/) > [Ea, it sucks, but that's reality. You can't really forgive someone without forgetting and the things you've done...I can't forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ea-it-sucks-but-that-s-reality-you-can-t-really-forgive-someone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Real forgiveness is about fundamentally changing the way you see a situation. It is about clearing away the fog of fear and seeing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-giles/real-forgiveness-is-about-fundamentally-changing-the-way-you-see-a/) [Kimberly Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-giles/) > [I figured out that I can't forget. I can't really forgive. But I can live. Live with it. Like you live with a scar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-giles/i-figured-out-that-i-can-t-forget-i-can-t-really-forgive-but-i-can/) [Gail Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-giles/) > [Can you really forgive if you can't forget?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/can-you-really-forgive-if-you-can-t-forget/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [God is the only one who can really forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-salvador/god-is-the-only-one-who-can-really-forgive/) Anderson Salvador > [I dont really forgive people I just pretend like it's ok and wait for my opportunity to destroy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewelizeemint-deelouviou/i-dont-really-forgive-people-i-just-pretend-like-it-s-ok-and-wait-for/) [Jewelizeemint Deelouviou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewelizeemint-deelouviou/) > [“I forgive you, but I won’t forget what you did…not in some threatening, I don’t really forgive you kind of way… but just because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/i-forgive-you-but-i-won-t-forget-what-you-did-not-in-some-threatening/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) > [“I love you, man. Do you really forgive me?” “If you hug me,” Wes said, “I’ll kill you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/i-love-you-man-do-you-really-forgive-me-if-you-hug-me-wes-said-i-ll/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [I wonder if we really forgive the Person's who hurt us? We Say we forgive them, but we don't forget what they did to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/i-wonder-if-we-really-forgive-the-person-s-who-hurt-us-we-say-we/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) ## More by Lewis B. Smedes > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [...Forgiving is not having to understand. Understanding may come later, in fragments, an insight here and a glimpse there, after forgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-is-not-having-to-understand-understanding-may-come-later-in/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The God who has the whole world in his hands has grace for the whole world in his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/the-god-who-has-the-whole-world-in-his-hands-has-grace-for-the-whole/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Nobody sees reality whole; we all need others to show us the parts of it that they see better than we do. Nobody sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nobody-sees-reality-whole-we-all-need-others-to-show-us-the-parts-of/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [I have discovered that most people who tell me that they cannot forgive a person who wronged them are handicapped by a mistaken understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/i-have-discovered-that-most-people-who-tell-me-that-they-cannot/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Spoken forgiveness, no matter how heartfelt, works best when we do not demand the response we want. I mean that when we tell people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/spoken-forgiveness-no-matter-how-heartfelt-works-best-when-we-do-not/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-does-not-erase-the-bitter-past-a-healed-memory-is-not-a/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [We feel properly embarrassed when we are caught doing something that makes us look inept, knuckleheaded, or inappropriate. Maybe the difference is this: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/we-feel-properly-embarrassed-when-we-are-caught-doing-something-that/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-does-not-erase-the-bitter-past-a-healed-memory-is-not-a-2/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [When I feel the joy of receiving a gift my heart nudges me to join creation's ballet, the airy dance of giving and receiving,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/when-i-feel-the-joy-of-receiving-a-gift-my-heart-nudges-me-to-join/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Our sense of fairness tells us that people should pay for the wrong they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/our-sense-of-fairness-tells-us-that-people-should-pay-for-the-wrong/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Gratitude is the best feeling I would ever have, the ultimate joy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/gratitude-is-the-best-feeling-i-would-ever-have-the-ultimate-joy-of/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [My father was only thirty-one when he died of a heart attack, much too young for a father to die and leave his young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/my-father-was-only-thirty-one-when-he-died-of-a-heart-attack-much-too/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The only way to heal the pain which will not heal itself is to forgive the person who hurt you. Forgiveness heals the memory's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/the-only-way-to-heal-the-pain-which-will-not-heal-itself-is-to/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [If you cannot free people from their wrongs and see them as the needy people they are, you enslave yourself to your own painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/if-you-cannot-free-people-from-their-wrongs-and-see-them-as-the-needy/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) [Explore all 106 Lewis B. Smedes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) ## More Forgive quotes > [“So in practicing blanket forgiveness you first assume that in any current condition of pain or discomfort there is some anger involved, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-kahili-king/so-in-practicing-blanket-forgiveness-you-first-assume-that-in-any/) Serge Kahili King > [Do what is given to you, and do it well, and you will have done enough...live together in the forgiveness of your sins. Forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-what-is-given-to-you-and-do-it-well-and-you-will-have-done-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The public, more often than not, will forgive mistakes, but it will not forgive trying to wiggle out of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-grizzard/the-public-more-often-than-not-will-forgive-mistakes-but-it-will-not/) [Lewis Grizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-grizzard/) > [Im so sorry,i screwed up again.i didnt meant hurting you.please,forgive me,again?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redeyeen/im-so-sorry-i-screwed-up-again-i-didnt-meant-hurting-you-please/) Redeyeen > [“He fell back. He had cried out so loud that even if there had been no breach in the wall, I should have heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/he-fell-back-he-had-cried-out-so-loud-that-even-if-there-had-been-no/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [Forgive us our trespasses," says Margarethe, "and get out of our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/forgive-us-our-trespasses-says-margarethe-and-get-out-of-our-way/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Ive learned¦ that no matter how good a friend is, theyre going to hurt you every once in a while, and you must forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ive-learned-that-no-matter-how-good-a-friend-is-theyre-going-to-hurt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you can't forgive and forget, pick only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-brault/if-you-can-t-forgive-and-forget-pick-only-one/) [Robert Brault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-brault/) > [I feel people relate with your entire journey and forgive your mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-feel-people-relate-with-your-entire-journey-and-forgive-your/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [“The Bible says, “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-bible-says-you-must-make-allowance-for-each-other-s-faults-and/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“By choosing to forgive, you are choosing to love. By choosing to operate in love, you are choosing to operate in an unconditional state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-watterson/by-choosing-to-forgive-you-are-choosing-to-love-by-choosing-to/) Eric Watterson > [The most important thing about being a father is being able to forgive yourself. If you don't forgive yourself, you're not going to forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evander-holyfield/the-most-important-thing-about-being-a-father-is-being-able-to/) [Evander Holyfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evander-holyfield/) Browse all 3,381 Forgive quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We forgive freely or we do not really forgive at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis B. Smedes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-forgive-at-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forgive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-forgive-at-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgive_we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-fo_631314.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgive_we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-fo_631314.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgive_we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-fo_631314.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We forgive freely or we do not really forgive at all.” — Lewis B. Smedes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lewis B. Smedes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We forgive freely or we do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-forgive-at-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/we-forgive-freely-or-we-do-not-really-forgive-at-all/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```