On Forgiveness...Part One

Few of Jesus’ teachings carry a higher degree of difficulty than forgiveness. This is due mainly to his insistence on, and example of, forgiving the people we would rather curb-stomp and groin-punch. Forgiving people you like is a piece of cake. Forgiving people you despise and who despise you in return is a whole different matter all together.

It’s not a new idea that forgiveness is more about the forgiver than the forgivee. In forgiving, in truly letting go, we are freeing our self from the need to hold on to parasitic bitterness and anger, the need for revenge, and the need to control the outcome. The response of the forgiven is not of the utmost importance (read that last sentence again…I’ll wait…). They may choose to reject that forgiveness, to not live in the freedom of a forgiven reality, but they nonetheless remain forgiven. This is crucial. The value of forgiveness is not based upon the acceptance of the receiving party; it is based upon the character of the offended or injured person.

Let’s examine this in terms of God’s forgiveness. If we hold to the belief that Jesus is the image of God in human flesh (John 1:14); that he is everything God is, a perfect reproduction (Col. 1:15); that, as he told the Apostles, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), then we have to believe that Jesus’ actions, attitudes, emotions are those of God. So it stands to reason that how and who Jesus forgives is how and who God would forgive also. The following passage is interesting:

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. __Matthew 9:1-8__

Nowhere in this passage do we find the man asking for forgiveness, yet Jesus gives it to him anyway. In fact we can assume that the man was brought for healing, not forgiveness—he receives both. On one level we can take this as our way of forgiving others: completely, totally, without condition or need for response. On a deeper level this gives us a picture of how God works in the world: unasked for, undeserved forgiveness. Look at the cross, the supreme ugliness of the world’s sins against God and man placed upon one innocent man. On that cross we hear Jesus pleading to God for his executioners, and, I believe, for the world: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Could there be a less deserving group of people than the Roman and Jewish authorities who killed Jesus? Yet, he implores God to do just that: forgive. It was not asked for and we don’t even know if it was received, but it was granted nonetheless.

As disciples we are expected by Jesus to forgive completely and unconditionally (Colossians 3:13), keeping no record of wrongs done to us (1 Corinthians 13:5), and forgiving a limitless number of times (Matthew 18:22). For some reason though we don’t believe that God acts under that same standard. We teach that we have to ask for forgiveness in order for it to be granted by God. Our standard is to forgive without being asked. Doesn’t it stand to reason that God would forgive by the same standard He set for us, or, even exceed that standard? Against logic we have placed a double standard on God, only allowing Him the capacity to forgive when we ask Him. While I don’t have the direct quote on hand, I believe it was Oswald Chambers that asserted our asking for forgiveness shows a tremendous lack of faith in God and is, in effect, an insult to God, who, in His gracious love forgave us through the blood of Christ. Asking Him for forgiveness shows that we don’t really believe the sacrifice of Christ was enough to forgive every freakin’ sin we commit, nor that it dealt with Sin as a whole.

...to be continued...