"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
~ Mahatma GandhiC. S. Lewis once told of a time when theologians and other educated people were discussing what made Christianity different from all other religions of the world.
Lewis walked into the room and when confronted by the question, he reportedly said, "That's easy. It's grace."
Grace.
Grace is God's unwarranted and undeserved love; it is this alone which is unique to Christianity and it goes against our natural instinct.
Forgiveness isn't easy; maybe that is why so many have experienced opposition to this 'free gift' of God, even in Christian circles.
Maybe, just maybe, that is why Jesus Himself spoke so much about forgiveness and the need for grace.
And maybe that was why God was so willing to forgive His people after centuries of rejection; He knew we wouldn't come to Him any other way.
In our world, we are use to some type of catch; there are of course, no free lunches.
But with Jesus it is different.
In His teachings and illustrations, there are no loopholes which might disqualify a person from God's love.
Jesus portrayed God's arms as ever-extended; if we lack forgiveness or grace then it is only because it is ourselves who have turned away.
It seems that God takes joy in humanity; which should not be a surprise since He is our Creator.
He loves us, not because we have eradicated all the problems sin has caused - such as suffering and pain; rather, He loves us because we're lost and then we are found.
He rejoices at that moment when we stop being pursed by Him and turn and walk towards Him seeking His grace.
That would excite any Father - the humility of a repentant child.
Many of us miss the point of the stories Jesus tells us in Scripture; He shows us the value of
 |
| A Hypocrite |
If you've never noticed who Jesus chose to hand out with during His life, it was not the false religious types who strut on Sunday Morning; instead it was real people who had real pain in their lives and needed grace.
The religious crowd wasn't His crowd, but the whores, tax collectors and reprobates were fully welcomed and they welcomed Him as well.
The 'Good Church People' of His day rejected Him.
I need to be fully honest at this point; I've met a lot of those 'good Church people' and have been disappointed in them.
I know a man whom I have never seen one bit of compassion or mercy in him towards others. I have seen him hurt his family, hurt himself and hurt others within his own church; emotionally that is, never physically that I know of but emotional pain can be just as devastating.
When people in his community see him in his church, those who know him don't want anything to do with that church because of how he treats others in life.
And to be quite honest, with people so destructive in the pews, I believe I'd rather hang out with the reprobates like Jesus did.
Millions of Christians know someone like the person I have described from my past.
In truth, we are all one step away from being that hard-hearted, cold, callused, carnal Christian
We must always guard against this...for it may be one of the greatest sins we could commit.
Every Christian has been forgiven a mountainous amount by God; there's no question about that.
It is so large, that beside it, any person's wrong against me would seem to be an anthill in comparison.
How can we be so audacious to have received forgiveness on God's level and yet, cease to forgive one another?
This should not be seen as weak, nor as an excuse for the offender; rather it should be seen as imitating the One who moved Heaven and Earth to forgive you and I in the power of His grace.
If there is any doubt about forgiving someone who has sinned greatly against us, the Apostle Paul boldly states, 'Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.'
The Apostle understood the magnitude of God's forgiveness in his life; Paul never 'got over' being forgiven by the grace of God, nor should we.
If we allowed it, like Paul, grace would guide our lives until our death; and each day would be an experience of ever increasing victory in the Lord because only God's Grace can allow us to triumph over the world.
The theologian Karl Barth was once asked at a press conference what the "most profound truth" he had learned in his life.
Without hesitation, Barth answered:
"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so..."
Barth was right, for Jesus' love is unconditional; which is why His grace abounds in our lives.
Now, if this is true, the question must be asked,
'Why then do so many of us continue to try and earn His love when it is freely given?'
"Why can't people just accept His love?"Somehow some have the idea that though they believe in God, God doesn't believe in them anymore.
Maybe it is because of how some 'Good Churches' with 'Good People' treat those different from themselves.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
When I was in the Cleveland Clinic, not knowing if I was going to live or die, but trusting God by faith that what ever happened would be for His glory - once I was lying in a hospital bed reading out of the Bible late at night.
I was suppose to have a surgery in the morning; I wasn't worried, just awake.
A nurse walked in, as they did about every two hours or so, and saw what I was doing and said, "You must be close with God."
I said, "Yes, He is quite fond of me. I may be seeing Him soon."
Well, it didn't happen at that time, but some day it will - I will meet the Lord face to face.
And I was right, He is fond of me; He is also fond of every person who honestly seeks Him in truth.
I wish the millions of Christians across the globe who think they are on God's 'bad' list would wake up and realize that Jesus didn't die for the righteous, but for those who needed forgiveness and grace.
You see, the Book of Life was not written in successive chapters; it was delivered in a print.
As evidence, just look in Scripture and see whom God loves and you will soon see that the people look more like a group of people you'd see at a County Jail.
There are murderers, thieves, liars, people who betrayed loved ones, harlots and worse; in fact, anybody who was unworthy of grace seems to be the very person whom God chased down to
 |
| Forgiven of all because of the Cross |
Friend, He still does.
God doesn't weigh the good and the bad; he blesses the good and forgives the bad because He can see who we will one day become because of His wonderful grace in our lives.
We are the Unworthy who have been forgiven.
Until next time, forgive the unworthy in your life and you'll be imitating Christ Himself, and you just may win one for the good guys.
No comments:
Post a Comment