"God forgives not with a decree but with a caress (mercy). Mercy is something difficult to understand: it does not erase sins. What erases sins is God's forgiveness. Mercy goes further. It is like the sky: we look at the sky when it is full of stars, but when the sun comes out in the morning, with all its light, we don't see the stars anymore. That is what God's mercy is like: a great light of love and tenderness." (Pope Francis) Would that our forgiveness of others be of a similar magnitude. In his mercy God does not see our sinfulness but sees his desire to bring us in union with him once more.  So should our mercy be for others who  have offended us in a much smaller way than we have offended God. It doesn't erase of deny what was done, but mercy and forgiveness do not allow it to remain in front of us.