Forgiveness
In the Lord's Prayer we ask God to "For give us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Jesus told us to forgive not just seven times but seventy times seven times. So why is forgiveness so hard? Perhaps we can begin by looking at what forgiveness is not about. Pastor Mark Driscoll shared this list of ten things forgiveness is not.
- not approving or diminishing sin
- not enabling sin
- denying a wrongdoing
- not waiting for an apology.
- not forgetting (God does not interact with believers on the basis of our sin because of Jesus therefore our sin is forgoten)
- forgiveness is not ceasing to feel the pain.
- forgiveness is not a onetime event.
- forgiveness is not neglecting justice. (You can forgive someone and call the police and have them arrested. You can forgive someone and testify against them in court.)
- not trusting (that must be earned back over time)
- not reconciliation.it takes one person to repent one to forgive two to reconcile
Taking these thoughts and combining them with the picture of God's forgiveness that comes through Jesus' work on the cross we can perhaps come closer to understanding what it means to forgive. In the greek the term forgive carries the idea of passing over, pardoning, and releasing a person from condemnation on the basis of thier sin. In the eternal sense this is done perfectly and completely because of Jesus' atonement on the cross. As believers we can forgive in the since that we view others as Jesus views them namely all people are guilty sinners in need of rescue. To forgive is to hand over the wrongs a person does against us to God. We can trust God to deal with that person justly while we cleanse our hearts of the effects of anger, resentment, and punitive thoughts.
Forgiveness then is empowered by the Holy Spirit who gives us a sense of humility and fear of God that allows us to love our neighbor. As we forgive people we release our hearts to be freed to move on, to grow closer to Christ, and to allow Jesus to be seen through us. I like Pastor Driscoll's list because it reminds us that as sinful people there are realities we face when sinned against. There are real consequences and real feelings we have when someone sins against us or someone we love. to forgive is to choose to love that person not on the basis of what they have done, but purely on the basis of what Christ has done for you.
So forgiveness is a choice to interact with someone in love. Some times love causes hurt, has bad memories, and allows discipline to occur, but in the end the goal of love is to see people as eternal beings in need of a savior. Having trouble forgiving return to the cross, reflect on Jesus, and pray for the Holy Spirit to empower you to forgive.
Yeah forgiveness, easier blogged about than done.
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