Why Should I Forgive?

Forgiveness is not simple nor easy. The closer we are to the person who has hurt us, the harder it is to let go of the hurt and pain, and offer to them the gift of forgiveness. Why should I forgive someone who as hurt me deeply? Besides the fact that failure to forgive can have a detrimental impact on us physically and can give our adversary a foothold in our lives to work, why else should we forgive? What should motivate us to forgive? We should forgive others because we've been forgiven much. We should also forgive others in order to be forgiven by God-- not judicial forgiveness , but familial forgiveness. And we should forgive others in order to free God to work in the offenders. You and I who have been forgiven much, certainly we can forgive the 'little'!