Forgiveness

July 29, 2015

“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”—“Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.”—Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles.—Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.—If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.—Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you."

This morning's reading from "Our Daily Light" drilled me right between the eyes. In more than 40 years as a pastor, I've had plenty of occasions to counsel people about forgiveness, and plenty more to exercise it myself. And even more to receive it. Forgiveness is a topic we love to hear about when we've wronged someone else; not so much when someone has wronged us. I cannot recall how often I've heard people say, "I can forgive "X," but this is too big to forgive." This misses the whole point. If it's not big, get over it. Forgiveness is precisely for the big stuff.

And it's not optional for the Christian. It amazes me how Christians can continue to hold grudges against a brother or sister for some real or imagined slight. It's like they never read the parable of the Unforgiving Servant who was forgiven an enormous sum, but refused to forgive a picayune amount owed to him by a fellow servant. It's found in Matthew 18. I believe that the reason he refused to forgive is that he hadn't really believed he himself was actually forgiven, and so had to exact every penny out of a fellow servant in a vain attempt to raise the cash to pay his unpayable debt. Unfortunately for the unforgiver, Jesus is crystal clear: If we don't forgive, God won't forgive us.

Contrast the unforgiving attitude we encounter so frequently here in America, the land of the Perpetually Offended with that of the Coptic Christians who forgave the ISIS jihadists who murdered dozens of their brothers "because Jesus commanded us to forgive."

I wish I could say this topic is academic, but it's not. It's personal. Most of the time, it's not an issue for me, mostly I suspect, because I've not been in situations where it's necessary. I've not had to bury a child, victim of a gang shooting. I've not had someone steal my identity and clean out my retirement fund. But I have had people betray friendship, do their best to destroy the work to which I had devoted my life, and years ago at a time when I could least afford it, I had someone borrow a significant sum of money he never returned. Pretty small stuff when I think about it, but it's real to me, and Jesus' words are pointed and convicting. As a Christian, I have no choice but to let these things go, every time they rear their ugly heads in my heart. Left to myself, I would hold onto the offense, which ultimately would destroy my own soul. Tonight I am grateful for Scripture that cuts to the core, refusing to let me off the hook. Even when it's hard and I don't like it, forgiveness is the only way, and once again, I choose to let go of the offenses because God let me go free, and I don't want to forfeit that freedom by returning to the bondage of the grudge.