Why should I forgive someone who isn't sorry?

It's a fair question—forgiving someone who shows no remorse can feel like letting them off the hook, or pretending the wrong didn't matter. But biblical forgiveness was never primarily about the other person's response. It's something offered, whether or not it's received.

Jesus modeled this directly. While being executed by people showing zero remorse, he prayed, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). That forgiveness didn't depend on an apology that never came.

Practically, this doesn't mean you have to feel warmly toward someone or pretend they didn't hurt you. It means choosing not to let their unrepentance keep controlling you—not carrying it around as a debt you keep trying to collect.

Colossians puts it simply: "forgiving one another... just as the Lord has forgiven you" (Colossians 3:13). That's a high bar, since God forgave people who weren't yet sorry either. It's offered as a gift for your own freedom as much as anything else, not a reward the other person has to earn first.