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The Second World War was one of the most terrible pages ever written in human history. The two main "aggressors", GERMANY and JAPAN, were expelled from the Olympics because of the deaths they had caused.

They were eventually re-admitted to the Helsinki Olympic Games of 1952, although there was still opposition from many. Fortunately, the power of forgiveness was stronger than the recent memories.

Someone once said that forgiveness is God's business. Though that isn't 100% true (never forget that God is just and his justice is always manifest and real), it does say a great deal about his character, for the simple reason that no one in the world has shown more willingness to forgive every human being than God.

No-one would die for an enemy, and yet that is what God did for us. If he forgave us, how can we refuse to forgive others?

Forgiving the one who has hurt us is one of the hardest things we are asked to do. But we have no right to harbour bitterness or refuse to forgive the one who asks, because God didn't do that with us.

And, in our turn, we must also accept the forgiveness offered by others. That doesn't mean that when we do wrong we shouldn't accept the consequences, or if we have stolen or damaged something we shouldn't make restitution.

All evil has consequences, and even though God forgives us, justice demands that we suffer the negative consequences of our actions.

This is God's greatest lesson: just as we needn't go through anyone to receive God's forgiveness (God forgives us individually, without intermediaries), we too should forgive others.

How many times? Jesus himself gave us the answer: unconditional, unlimited forgiveness. That's the kind of forgiveness we should show others. Is there anyone you need to forgive?