Favorite Bible Stories on Forgiveness???

I have been thinking of the atonement and why sometimes it seems easier for strangers to forgive others than for family or close friends to forgive each other. We see extreme heinous acts forgiven of people whose kids have been murdered by a stranger, and yet we often see so many families or close friends destroyed by hurt at the hand of one without forgiveness extended. So I wondered why that is. I mean if you go to my MIRACLES page, you will see three stories of amazing people whose family member was murdered and the person forgave the offender completely and in two cases made them a part of their family. Yes you heard that right, they made the killer a member of their family. So why is it that it seems harder to forgive our own family members for what is often a lot less of an offense than murder?

I have a theory about this and may be wrong. I will hypothesize that it comes down to trust. You see those in our family or close circles have been entrusted with our hearts. We would never expect the people who love us the most to do some of the horrific behaviors that hurt us. I think that's why it hurts more and why it is harder to forgive.

So it got me to thinking, are there any clear examples in the Bible where people forgive their family or close friends of severe hurt, and is it just a forgiveness in word or do they embrace forgiveness and love others more?

I came upon many stories and like the one of Esau and Jacob. I found a site (whatchristionaswanttoknow.com) that summarizes this story well. Other stories from the bible also demonstrate forgiveness as well...the Prodigal Son, Jesus and the Woman, David and Mephobisheth, as well as the well known Joseph and his brothers story.

The question then becomes non-relevant, shouldn't we extend forgiveness even more to those we love and trust and want them back home with us? Here is the story of Jacob and Esau.

Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25, 27, 32, 33)- Forgiveness Bible Story

The twins Jacob and Esau were very different from one another. One was a man’s man. Esau loved outdoor activities like tending the sheep and hunting. Jacob preferred to stay at home and learn from his mother.

One day Esau came in from the field famished. He begged Jacob to give him something to eat. In return Jacob sold a bowl of soup to his older twin in exchange for the birthright. Esau traded the larger portion of their inheritance for a bowl of beans. (Genesis 25:29-34)

The deception continued. When their father Isaac knew he was near death he requested that his manly son Esau kill a deer to prepare a fine meal before dividing the estate. Rebbecca, the mother of the twins, heard the request and helped Jacob pull off a grand scheme to fool Isaac into giving Jacob the larger portion of the inheritance.

In the end, Jacob had to run for his life. He fled to another country to find his mother’s relatives who would care for him. It was many years before he returned to his own family. When he did, he heard that his brother Esau was looking for him. The deceiver Jacob was scared. He devised a plan so that his brother could only destroy half of Jacob’s wealth if he was caught. (Genesis 32)

When they finally met, Esau ran to Jacob and hugged him and kissed him and showed forgiveness and mercy. He had so forgiven Jacob that he was surprised Jacob would even think that there might be hard feelings between them. (Genesis 33)