Forgiveness Activity

Today’s SuperTruth says: “I will forgive others as Jesus has forgiven me.”

What does it mean to forgive someone?

Ask the first child who answers to come up and link arms with you at the elbow.

We have all experienced times when we needed to ask for forgiveness or we gave forgiveness to someone. How does it feel to forgive or to be forgiven?

It can feel like a big weight has been lifted that you’ve carried around, right? I want each of you to think about a time when you were forgiven or forgave someone. As you think of it, come up and join the circle by linking arms with the last child.

Unforgiveness can break or even destroy relationships. Our circle is not fully connected, is it? No. Let’s imagine that ______—child’s name on the other end of the chain—has done something to hurt me and I am having a hard time forgiving him/her. This offense has come between us and has broken our relationship.

Matthew 6:14–15 says,

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

This verse tells me that not only has my unforgiveness come between me and ______—child’s name, but it has also come between God and me! I don’t want that! I have broken the circle and forgiveness is no longer flowing. Now I go to ______—say the child’s name and move toward him or her while still staying linked to the first child—and ask to be forgiven because I have hurt him/her with my actions. ______—child’s name—forgives me because of the love of Christ inside him/her—lock arms to close the circle. Our relationship is restored—not only between ______-child’s name— and me, but with God, too! Forgiveness now flows freely!

Because of how Jesus reconciled us to God through forgiving our sins, we need to freely forgive as He does! Repeat the SuperTruth: “I will forgive others as Jesus has forgiven me.”