Gospel Moment: When Forgiveness Feels Impossible

The yard signs are up again. Red ones, blue ones, some homemade and passionate, others slick and professional. Neighbors who waved at each other all summer now drive past with eyes fixed straight ahead. Thanksgiving plans are already being whispered about with the careful question, “Who’s coming… and what are we not talking about?” Election season has arrived in the North State, and with it comes that familiar ache of division.

You may have witnessed something like this....

Two longtime friends—men who had coached Little League together, prayed at the same men’s group, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder at community barbecues—stopped speaking after a heated Facebook exchange. One was passionate about one set of issues, the other equally convinced on the other side. What began as policy differences slowly hardened into personal distrust. The silence between them grew louder than any argument. Their families felt it. Their church felt it. And the enemy of our souls smiled.

Jesus knew this would happen. In Matthew 24, He warned that “nation will rise against nation” and even “brother will betray brother.” Yet in the very same breath, He told us how to live: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35).

Look past the issue and trust in God’s plans.

The candidates will come and go. Policies will shift. But the heart of the matter is not ultimately left or right—it is above. Proverbs 21:1 reminds us, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” God is not pacing the heavens, worried about November. He is sovereign over every election, every court, every cultural shift. Our calling is not to place our ultimate hope in any earthly outcome, but to trust the One who holds tomorrow.

That does not mean we become apathetic. Stand firm in the beliefs God has placed in your heart. Speak truth with clarity and conviction. Vote according to conscience informed by Scripture. But never let political passion turn your brother or sister into an enemy. As Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers… against the spiritual forces of evil.” The person across the aisle is not the adversary—they are the mission field.

Be the first to forgive. It is the righteous thing to do.

Jesus was unmistakably clear in Matthew 18. When Peter asked how often he should forgive, the Lord answered “seventy times seven”—in other words, without limit. Then He told the parable of the unforgiving servant: a man forgiven an enormous debt who refused to forgive a tiny one. The warning at the end is sobering: “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Keep kindness in your hearts, beloved. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Send the text. Make the call. Sit across the table and say, “I disagree with you on this, but I love you, and I’m choosing not to let politics steal our friendship.” That is not weakness. That is obedience. That is the narrow road.

A Prayer for This Election Season

Lord, heal the divisions among us. Give us eyes to see past the signs and the soundbites to the image-bearers You created. Help us stand firm without becoming hard. Help us hold our convictions without losing compassion. Make us people who forgive first, love fiercely, and trust You completely—whether our candidate wins or loses. May the North State see something different in Your church: unity in the midst of diversity, grace in the midst of disagreement, and hope that does not disappoint. In the name of Jesus, who reconciled us to the Father while we were still His enemies, Amen.

Friends, the world is watching. Let them see Jesus in the way we treat one another when it’s hardest. The election will end. The Kingdom will not. Choose forgiveness today. Your neighbor’s heart may depend on it.

— Submitted with love for the North State