Lewis B. Smedes Quotes & Sayings

“Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.”

“It takes one person to forgive, it takes two people to be reunited.”

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

“You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.”

“What is a disloyal act? A person is disloyal if he treats you as a stranger when, in fact, he belongs to you as a friend or partner. Each of us is bound to some special others by the invisible fibers of loyalty.”

“Restorative justice is not a replacement of retributive justice, but a complement. It seeks the rehabilitation of the wrongdoer and the repair of the victim's injury.”

“Nobody sees reality whole; we all need others to show us the parts of it that they see better than we do. Nobody sees reality with total accuracy; we all need others to correct our own vision.”

“Forgiving is love's toughest work, and love's biggest risk.”

“The God who has the whole world in his hands has grace for the whole world in his heart.”

“Seeing reality for what it is is what we call discernment. The work of discernment is very hard.”