How often must we forgive?
Our Lord responded "7x7x70".
Hanging on the cross
Beaten, bleeding, in pain,
Jesus forgave
But then, after all, He was the Son of God.

When we are beaten and broken,
When loss tears our hearts apart,
When all we see is evil,
How can we choose
Between vengeance and forgiveness?

In a cell all alone
A man lies beaten, in pain.
A prisoner of war,
5 years only with his thoughts.
Down through the years after,
In the land of the free,
He chose love and forgiveness
As the hallmarks of his life.

What will we let shape our response
To a woman's head scarf, a national origin,
Or a memory of the few
Who took Allah's name in vain?

Shall we see all as evil?
Shall we want all to be killed?
Shall we say forgiveness is impossible?
Or shall we say "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord"
And forgive as many times as it takes
To remove the stain of hatred from our hearts.