Forgiveness #1

       I can think of no other subject that would be the premier first post to encourage you in the pursuit of your ultimate Kingdom destiny than forgiveness. Like so many challenging life teachings in God's Word, it is much like a greased pig in the sense that in the application of it, I am able to grab onto a piece (or limb, as the case may be)  for a short time, but then it seems to quickly wiggle through my most intense grasp. Even if I corral the entire porker, it can still escape inside the confines of the pen and remain elusive because it is hard to pin it down due to it's.....well....slipperiness! Maybe that's why it is so much easier if I kill the pig, make it into a football, and toss it on to someone else. In other words, many Christians are teaching a form of this key Biblical concept with such passion, but are lacking the power to live it out in their own personal lives. They have called the audible and passed on this responsibility to others, usually the vulnerable people under their teaching. They choose whom they will forgive according to their own list of preferences.

      It is certainly a sobering proposition that if I fail to forgive, then I will not be forgiven(Matthew 6:14, 15; Mark 11:25, 26; Luke 11:4); that if I judge, I will be judged in like manner (Matthew 7:1-5). In fact, unforgiveness and judgment seem to be bosom buddies, an unholy couple. On the other hand, forgiveness and mercy are the perfect partners,  redeeming spouses (Matthew 6:12; James 2:13). Even in the midst of the greatest injustice in human history, Jesus forgave, showing amazing mercy(Luke 23:34).

    Now this doesn't mean that we are a doormat for every evil person to use us to clean his feet. Even in Jesus' teaching in Luke 17:3-5,  he says to "rebuke" the person who sins against us and, when he repents, forgive him (also see Matthew 18:15-17). The point is that we need to ask Holy Spirit what to do and say in each situation with which we are faced, but our heart should be embracing merciful forgiveness to follow the generously forgiving example of Jesus. 

    One very interesting passage in this regard is Luke 6:37-38: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." So, the measure that I use to judge, condemn, forgive, and give will be the same measure that is measured back to me in those spiritual actions (which reveal the degree to which my heart is responding spiritually or naturally to Holy Spirit).

   A parable that illustrated the previous spiritual principle was given by Jesus in Matthew 18:23-35. It tells of a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. One servant had a debt so large, he had no hope of paying it. The plan became to sell him and his family into slavery and sell all their possessions, as well. The servant humbly sought the patient mercy of the master and his plea elicited a compassionate response from the king. He released the servant and his family, and forgave the debt. However, the servant failed to do likewise to a fellow servant that owed him a much smaller debt. When the fellow servant pleaded for patient mercy, it was abruptly denied, and he was thrown into prison until the debt could be paid. Observing all of this, several fellow servants brought the incident to the attention of the king. In verse 32, the master said, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?" The parable ends with an extremely sobering couple of verses: "And the master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due him. So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his tresspasses." Whoa! That's bone-tingling no matter what interpretation is give to those final two verses....... 

Well, how about some feedback, questions, and comments on the subject of forgiveness. Let me hear from you!