Forgiveness and Retribution

The young man had grown up in an abusive home. He was raised by his stepfather who was a strict disciplinarian. He would beat him with extension cords and pieces of wood and with every beating, would tell him “I did it because I love you. It hurt me more than it hurt you son”. This communicated a wrong message about the meaning of love to him. For many years, he thought love was supposed to hurt.