Forgiveness

Last night (Sunday, November 9) the Preacher said, “God is in the forgiveness business.” The conclusion of his (the Preacher’s) attempt to allow us to see John’s picture of the man, Jesus, ended with a brief study of forgiveness. We were reminded that only God can forgive sin. Being Judge is limited to the only one without sin, or desire to sin, and because of the death of Christ on Calvary, God is justified in placing our sin on Him (Christ), and forgiving us.

I wonder why we are so often reluctant to follow suit. It is so easy to get angry at others, hear words that assault our faculties, get bent because of gossip, and sometimes create fault or blame out of thin air (or whole cloth, if you will). We fume and sputter and act for all the world as if we have never been forgiven by any other person and certainly not by God.

I confess I don’t know anyone (other than Christ, of course) that has lived such a perfect life on this Earth that there has never been a need for forgiveness. Occasionally (a vast understatement) we are waiting for someone to ask us to forgive them rather than taking the matter directly to them to declare our forgiveness regardless of the circumstances.

The Preacher, in concluding the narrative of “the woman taken in adultery,” did not indicate that the woman asked for forgiveness,  or indicate she wanted or needed to be forgiven, and yet she received Sovereign forgiveness from the infinite God of the ages. I need to learn SOMETHING from that, right? I have learned that I have the ability, the power, the right, and the joy, to forgive other’s injustices toward me just because I WANT to.

And, believe me, I WANT to. See Mark 11:26. That’s a mighty powerful incentive to forgive – just BECAUSE I CAN.