Have you been touched by forgiveness?

There are few things more relieving than knowing that you’re forgiven, that guilt has been removed, that there is nothing owing. As the line says,

“A good conscience makes a soft pillow.”

There is nothing that allows for freer breathing and a sense of peace than to know that one is right with one’s Maker. What a wonderful thing it is to be surrounded by God’s gentle mercy, to know that He longs to forgive those who have wronged Him. "I take no delight in the death of the wicked. I long for you to turn from your sins and be saved."

I suspect there are few things that make a person more miserable than pretending to not need forgiveness.

Just a little backwards

"I’m going to provide a means for your forgiveness
- NOT when you ask for it
- NOT when you’ve proven yourself worthy of it
- NOT when you stop being my enemy,
But before you even know that you are in need of it."

. Who does that?
. Who loves us in spite of our raging against him?
. Who offers forgiveness to those who, by all worldly standards don’t deserve forgiveness?
. Who says “I will make it possible for you to be at peace with me,” even as the person is about to be killed by his enemy?

Only Creator God, that’s who.

Only Creator God offers, without condition, forgiveness to everyone. He does this knowing in advance that most people will abuse and reject this most awesome example of Grace. And why do some people reject God’s offer of forgiveness? Because in their minds, they don’t need it. They compare down to those whose behaviours are worse and pronounce themselves not guilty; or at least not very guilty.

If I think that I’ve done no wrong, if I’m offended by the mere suggestion that I am guilty, how can I possibly accept an offer of forgiveness? These type of people can’t think of any reason why God shouldn’t be thrilled to have them in heaven for eternity, even if it’s against their earthly wish.

Yet the offer remains.

All that’s needed to receive this forgiveness is for you to reach out an accept it. And with that acceptance comes freedom; freedom from real guilt, freedom from the power of evil, freedom to love as you have been loved.

The Good News of God’s Grace

“Are you saying that I won’t go to heaven because of what I believe or don’t believe but someone who has just raped and murdered a little girl will get to go to heaven if he says he’s sorry? Is that what you’re saying?”

A friend of mine had just been asked that question by her sister. Her sister was a good woman, at least as good as the next person. Sure she'd told some lies and stolen a little bit of stuff, but who hasn't. Sure she'd been too harsh with her children but she was tired. Sure she'd cheated on her husband but it was just with one man and only a couple times. And besides, she’d never killed anyone.

Neither had she accepted Jesus as her Saviour and Lord. The concept of forgiveness and grace being given freely to the undeserving was galling and unacceptable to her. In her mind, Grace, as it is dispensed by Jesus is just plain wrong. It’s unfair. It let’s the guilty go free.

By worldly standards she is right on the money. By God’s standards she is guilty of lacking in mercy, something at which our Creator God excels. By God's standards she is guilty as sin, a situation that she by herself cannot remedy, a situation that, left as is, will keep her separated from God for eternity.

Grace is why I love God. Mercy is why I long to be in His presence. Forgiveness is why I’m allowed to spend eternity in paradise. Grace and mercy and forgiveness are all things that I need in abundance. God’s Grace is the good news that Jesus came to earth to demonstrate and to give to the human race.

If God can save a wretch like me, He can and will save a sinner like you. Will you let Him do that for you?

Forgiveness

Something that God won’t do is forgive someone who rejects His forgiveness. But O what an amazing thing it is to see how instantly God forgives those who want it. In describing what God is like, Jesus told the story of a son who grabbed his inheritance and squandered it on dubious living. Destitute and alone, this son came back home to the only real love that he’d ever known. Upon seeing his dad, the son said, “Father, I have sinned!” That’s all the son had to say and the Father, who had been longing, watching and waiting for His child to come home, welcomed His boy with open arms. All was forgiven. That is how it is with God.

Now some might say that if God really loved us, then He’d forgive us regardless of whether we reject Him or not. This type of thinking simply fails to follow the logical steps of reality. Logic dictates this simple fact. If we don’t come home, them we can’t be at home. If we don’t pick up the glass of water, then we can't drink from that glass of water. If we don’t pull our hand out of the fire then we can’t stop the fire from burning our hand. If we refuse to receive God’s offer of forgiveness then we can’t receive God’s offer of forgiveness. It’s not difficult for those willing to use their intellect.

Reality is, God forgives those who want His forgiveness.

Another example is what happened to some of the people who killed Jesus. A man named Peter, one of Jesus’ followers was talking to a large crowd of people who were still practically soaked in Jesus’ blood. Yet Peter declared to them, what he had learned from Jesus Himself, “Everyone of you who calls on the name of Jesus for forgiveness will be forgiven.” Three thousand people became Christians that day.

It’s was the same for one of the criminals who hung on a cross next to Jesus. He had done nothing in his life to try to make amends for the crimes that he had committed. Yet the moment that he asked for forgiveness, Jesus forgave him and said to him, “Today you will be in Paradise with Me.” Only an hour or so from death, this man was at the gates of hell. Hell was where he deserved to be. Yet, at the moment of repentance, God’s love swept aside his past and welcomed him safely home.

It is the same with you and me. No matter what we have done, No matter what we’re like, No matter how grievous our crimes, Jesus is willing to forgive us and begin a new relationship with us. Jesus himself paid the price of our sins, He bore the cost, He suffered the penalty, justice had been served at the cost of His life.

If Jesus was willing to die for you, so that you could be forgiven, don't you think it's a little silly to then think that He'd refuse your request for forgiveness? All we have to do is accept the forgiveness that Jesus is offering. It really doesn’t get any better than that!

If Only I Could Forgive

I’ve worked with so many people who, having been hurt by another, seem determined to return the hurt, or at the very least, withhold their love from the person who hurt them. The mind set that causes this to happen is one in which the other person is seen as evil, lacking any good characteristics, beyond redemption.

The thing about a relationship with Jesus is that it begins with Him helping us see ourselves as we truly are. We are forced to acknowledge that our good intentions do not always translate into good behaviours. We are forced to admit that our motives are more often than not, corrupt. Jesus brings into clear focus that even our very best and most altruistic behaviours are tainted by a self-serving bias.

When we mature in our relationship with Jesus we cannot help but admit that others, even those who hurt us, are just like us, a mixture of good and bad. They have the same hopes and dreams and longings and desires. Just like us, they screw up from time to time.

Now, it’s true that some people don’t need Jesus to make this type of growth. They are sufficient in themselves. But those aren’t the kind of people that Jesus calls. Jesus seeks out those of us who need salvation. He came to save those of us who recognise that we are corrupt to the core. He works in those of us who are willing to see our need for healing. I digress.

When we see “our enemies” in this light, we are not only able to change our opinion of them from evil to “just like me,” we are able to allow mercy to enter the relationship. Compassion begins to build a bridge to forgiveness. Understanding causes us to release our death grip on the need for revenge.

We may never get to the place where the relationship is restored. In fact, restoration may be the wrong thing to do. As well, the other person may not allow restoration or even want it to happen. However, with understanding and forgiveness on our part, we are freed from bitterness, and obsession. We are able to let go of hate and the desire to destroy.

God is good!

The Parables of Jesus

When Jesus told us His parables, He was describing Himself. The parables were describing the love of Jesus. They were describing His passion for those who do not yet know His forgiveness and salvation. He was describing His revulsion toward those of us to have received His forgiveness and who then turn around and withhold forgiveness, grace and mercy from others who are sharing this global community with us.

In the story of the prodigal son, Jesus shows that God longs to renew a relationship with those who are falling between the cracks of life - those struggling with multiple addictions, criminals, those who can only find a sense of belonging in serial relationships, those who can only find worth when it's reflected back to them in the things that they own, those who are “kept in place” through poverty and violence.

Jesus shows in His parables that the whole purpose in His relationship with humanity is to seek and to save those who are in rebellion to His love; to bring into His embrace those who, out of ignorance of His inclusive love, are trying to push Him away.

"Would You Please Forgive Me?"

Suppose you got a loan for $400,000.00. It was a legitimate cause. You run a construction company and you needed a new piece of equipment. But suppose you had a gambling problem. Suppose the money didn’t get sent to the machine company. Instead, you blew it. All that money from the bank and more is gone. You’re about to lose everything. So you go to the Bank Manager and say to her, “I know that I’ve messed up. I totally blew it. Would you please forgive me? Just let this debt slide, ok? Would you please?”
Suppose the Bank Manager said, “I can see that you mean well. I can see that you’re sorry. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to pay off all your debts out of my own pocket and I’m going to make sure that you get all the help that you need to deal with this gambling issue, to deal with your marriage problems, anything at all, all at my expense.”
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Suppose you’re deep into crime. Over the last ten years a million dollars worth of forged checks and stolen items have passed through your hands. Now you stand before the Judge and he asks if you have anything to say for yourself. As chance would have it you have something really important to say. “Your Honour, I am very, very sorry for all that I’ve done. I see the error of my ways and I plan to change from this day forward. So I was wondering, would you not just forgive these latest crimes of mine, but would you also simply wipe my slate clean? Would you please treat me as though none of that other stuff ever happened. I need a clean start. I need you to see me as a law abiding citizen. More than that. Would you see me as your own child and begin to take care of me? Please?”
Suppose the Judge stood up, came down from the bench and took you in his arms. While he is giving you a big hug, with tears streaming down his face he says to you, “Your debt is forgiven. As of right now, you have no criminal history. I will cash in everything that I own and pay off your debts. And because justice demands that a penalty be paid for your crimes, I’m going to do your jail time for you. Go in peace and don’t do this anymore.”
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Pretty absurd right? It would never happen. Not on this planet. Not in this lifetime.

Except that it has happened. On this planet no less. And the consequences are taking place during your lifetime.

We owe a debt to God. We owe a debt far greater than anything we could accumulate toward another human being. The punishment that we have coming to us, the debt that we owe due to our rebellion against our Creator means that we deserve eternal separation from God. We are separated from God by this impossibly huge debt forever and ever, unless someone can pay this debt for us. But who could do it but God Himself? Well, the answer is no one. And that is why God, in His love stepped down from His throne and came to earth to pay our penalty for us. The only thing for us to do is to say yes to this offer of forgiveness, this offer of salvation, this offer of renewal.
This what some call cheap Grace or cheap salvation. In the Bible, at the end of the “Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus follows up his admonition to pray ‘Father, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us,’ with a story of two men who went to the Temple to pray. The one man stood before the alter and told God what a good man he was and how lucky God was to have such a wonderful follower on His side. In fact, he told God, ‘I’m not nearly as bad as that other man standing over there.’ The other man that was being talked about had fallen on his knees before God and beat his breast saying, ‘Please forgive me dear Lord. I’m a dreadful sinner with no reason to expect your forgiveness. Without your mercy and grace I am lost.’ Jesus said to His disciples that this man, and not the former went away forgiven.

There is nothing cheap or easy about this type of forgiveness. The hardest thing that we humans can do is to admit to ourselves and to our Creator that we have not just done wrong, but that we are wrong - that we are fundamentally, essentially, totally and completely flawed. Not a single one of our “good” acts come and go without at least some tinge of pride, arrogance and corrupted self-love involved.

Unlike we humans who seem to get a kick out of withholding forgiveness, God longs for us to come to Him to receive forgiveness. He longs to heal our broken relationship with Him. That is why, while we were still His enemies, He took the first step to reconciliation. All that’s left to complete the transaction is our part, the reaching out an accepting this forgiveness, this freedom from guilt.

Now someone might say this is just a fairy tale; it’s just wishful thinking. Not so. There is not a human on earth that would invent a religion with this plot. Our arrogance and pride ensures that all manmade religions allow for the major role of redemption to be played by ourselves. In every religion but Christianity, their god plays the minor role; he jumps to our demands while we work our way to Nirvana or paradise or nothingness or whatever else it may be called. Only Christianity hammers away at the reality of our situation. Only Christianity reveals the concept of Grace. The concept of Grace, or undeserved favour, is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions past and future. Jesus and Jesus alone has done what we cannot do for ourselves. He provides for a healed, intimate and forgiven relationship with our Creator. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

All Christians Are Hypocrites, therefore I'd never become a Christian

I would never become a Christian because they’re all hypocrites.

People who say that all we Christians are hypocrites couldn’t be more correct. Every man woman and child who is a Christian is a hypocrite. On the other hand so is everyone else in the whole wide world. There are literally billions of hypocrites walking and talking on planet earth. Do you get my point? All people on earth are hypocrites and bigots and liars and adulterers and gossips and sexually immoral. Every person on earth is selfish and self-centred and greedy and all of us at one time or another wants what doesn’t belong to us.

The only thing about our desperately wicked hearts that’s debatable is the degree to which we indulge in our particular vices. That my friends is why Jesus came to earth in the first place. To save us from ourselves. "For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glorious expectations" Romans 3:23. The thing is, what irritates us about others are the very things that are present in our own personalities. Hypocrites, and you and I meet a lot of them because they aren’t just in church, are like a mirror to us.

"You therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath when His righteous judgment will be revealed. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, He will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger from God. Romans 2:1-5,7.
"So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." Romans 14:12.

What the Bible is saying is that those who focus on the hypocrisy of Christians would be a lot better off just focusing on getting the hypocritical log out of their own eyes. You see, we as Christians are already working on ours. That’s why we became Christians in the first place; because we became aware of how desperately wicked we are. As C. S. Lewis said, "No one knows how bad he is until he tries really hard to be good. A thoroughly bad man thinks he is OK."

No body is so good that they don’t need forgiveness from God. No body is so bad that they cannot receive forgiveness from God upon repentance.

I Could Never Become A Christian Because It's Simply Too Hard

I remember thinking that. I couldn’t stand all the rules; all the stuff that I wouldn’t be able to do if I became a Christian. Then I realised that all the stuff that God said I shouldn’t do was the very stuff that was ruining my life. While being a Christian might appear to be hard, not following Jesus is way, way harder. I have a post from 2006 called "Christianity is all about what you can’t do. It takes away all your freedom," that talks about it in more detail. Bottom line > the "do this and don’t do that" stuff in the Bible is there to bring us peace and freedom, not hardship.

Because He loves us, Jesus said, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on life, relationships and all that? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:28-30.

It is so very good to not have to make life destroying mistakes any more. Obeying Jesus / God brings wonderful, glorious freedom to life. 1st John 5:4,5 says, "The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome or burdensome. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world's ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God. (The Message).

Did you get that? While being a follower of Jesus will certainly bring more challenges to your life than you ever dreamed possible, being a Christian isn’t nearly as hard as NOT being a Christian. Psalm 19 says in part, The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward." The person who wrote those words was speaking from experience, and I can attest to the truth of those words also. There is nothing onerous about giving one’s life completely to Jesus.

No body is so good that they don’t need forgiveness from God. No body is so bad that they cannot receive forgiveness from God upon repentance.

I've been screwed over by Christians so there is no way that I could ever become a Christian.

I could never become a Christian because I know a Christian who treated me badly.

Actually this is a pretty common reason for people to quit many things. A baseball player is convicted of a hit-and-run so you stop going to any more sporting events. A doctor is convicted of sexual assault so you rant and rave about the evil that's endemic in the medical profession. Woody Allen has sex with and then marries one of his children so you stop going to the movies. A friend breaks a promise so you tell people how all friendships are rooted in hypocrisy. Your child butchers a piece by Mozart on the piano so you claim that Mozart was a fraud. Oh wait! You actually don’t do that. In fact, that kind of reaction is reserved only for excusing your rejection of Jesus the Christ. Ever wonder why there's that kind of inconsistency in your life?

Look, the Bible tells us that "the heart is desperately wicked." Not just my heart but yours as well. While becoming a Christian should, and in the vast majority of case does change our behaviour for the better, we are and will remain consistently drawn to selfish, self-centred, unloving behaviours toward those who are closest to us. But that isn’t Jesus' fault. The number of lives that He has radically changed for the better are legion and indisputable. Jesus can do that for you. Don’t blame the composer for the student’s poor performance.
Jeremiah 2:5 This is what the Lord says: "What fault did your fathers find in Me, that they strayed so far from me?"

No body is so good that they don’t need forgiveness from God. No body is so bad that they cannot receive forgiveness from God upon repentance.

I've been a sinner for too many years, therefore I could never become a Christian

I could never become a Christian because I've been sinning for way too long.
Have you ever felt that way? God could never forgive me. Look at all the stuff I’ve done. I’ve had lots of opportunity to turn my life to Jesus and I’ve put it off and put it off for decades.

That was my story. I deliberately turned away from Jesus for the first thirty years of my life. But Jesus loved me until I couldn’t run any more. In fact, Jesus says that he won’t turn away anyone who wants to come to Him even if it’s at the last possible second.

On the down-side, experience shows that for most people our ability to make a decision for Jesus ends abruptly. Heart attacks, strokes, overdose, violent storms and accidents etc. see to it that making a decision for Jesus should never be put off.

History records that Jesus died with two other criminals. Eyewitness accounts record that the final hours of Jesus’ life contained this drama -
One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: "Some Messiah you are! You can’t even save yourself!"
But the other one made him shut up: "Have you no fear of God? We deserve this, but not him——he did nothing to deserve this." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom."
Jesus said, "Don't worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise."

Isn’t that amazing? This guy had done nothing to deserve acceptance into paradise. He had no time to make amends for the life that he’d led. By his own account he deserved to be crucified. Yet all he needed, and all anyone needs in order to receive the love and mercy and grace and freedom from guilt that Jesus has to offer is to humble himself and ask for forgiveness.

No body is so good that they don’t need forgiveness from God. No body is so bad that they cannot receive forgiveness from God upon repentance.

I'm Lost And Hopeless, Therefore I Could Never Become A Christian

I’m Lost And Hopeless, therefore I could never become a Christian.
Imagine this! You’ve been in the forest for five days. You’ve been there for five days because you’re lost. No food. No water. Covered in bug bites.
Voice: "You should come home to get something to eat and drink and to get those sores looked after."
You: "I can’t. I have no idea how to find my home. It’s hopeless!"
Voice: "There is Someone right over there who knows how to get you home. You should ask Him for help."
You: There’s no point in asking for help. I’m lost."

Stupid right? It’s like saying, "I could never become a Christian because I desperately need to become a Christian."
Luke 19:10 - Jesus said, "For the Son of man (Jesus) came to seek and to save those who are lost."

No one is so good that they don’t need forgiveness from God. No one is so bad that they cannot receive forgiveness from God upon repentance.

I'm Too Great A Sinner, therefore I could never become a Christian

I Could Never Become A Christian because I’m too great a sinner:
I remember believing, mistakenly as it turns out, that I couldn’t approach God until I had become a good person; or at least a better person. Fortunately for all of us, it doesn’t work that way. Jesus came to earth on a rescue mission precisely because we are not good. In fact, the worse we are the more compassion He seems to have on us because our degree of "badness" is simply a symptom of how badly we need rescuing. About the worst we can become is thinking that we're actually pretty good; that we're better than others.
1st Timothy 1:15,16 - "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life."
This was said by a guy had people tortured to death because they were followers of Jesus. Yet Jesus forgave Him and transformed his life as He has transformed the lives of millions of others.
Romans 5:6 - "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."
Even before we wanted anything to do with God and before we knew that we needed help, Jesus provided a way for us to begin a new life, free from guilt and free from slavery to our old nature.
Matthew 9:12 & 13 - Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

There are no people that are so good that they don’t need forgiveness from God. There are no people so bad that they cannot receive forgiveness from God upon repentance.

Forgive? Ya right!

Father forgive them.
I was thinking today about the comment, "Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing." The identifier "Father" is easy to understand. It means our Heavenly Father. "Forgive them," while difficult to do is also easy to understand. We then have the comment, "They don’t know what they are doing?" Jesus said this in response to those who were killing Him. Stephen said this as people were in the process of killing him. Countless martyrs have said this as they were being burned at the stake or otherwise killed for their belief in Jesus.
The questions I have are these:
What is it that people don’t know that they are doing? and
Are there occasions when we should be saying, or at least thinking the same thing, while ‘bad’ things are being done to us?
A clue to the answer for the first question is found when Jesus said to Paul, shortly before Paul’s conversion, "Paul why are you persecuting me?" Persecuting Jesus? Jesus had already been tortured to death by the time Paul heard that voice. Paul was focussed on torturing and killing followers of Jesus. He didn’t care about Jesus the person. So what did Jesus mean that Paul was doing something to Him? Well, Jesus was not and is not dead. He is risen. He is alive! What’s more, Jesus has said emphatically that what we do to others, we are doing to Him. Jesus said that when we do something as ‘small’ as giving a glass of water to a little child, we are being kind to Him. When we withhold kindness from someone we are withholding kindness from Him. When we look down on others, we are looking down on Jesus.
The answer to the first question then, is that very few people are aware of what they are doing to Jesus as they berate a small child, refuse to forgive others, cheat on their spouses, lie to their friends, steal from their employers, view others as though they were nothing more than a sexual object etc..
The answer to the second question would be yes, indeed, on all occasions we need to be forgiving people who harm us. We should do this not only because were commanded to, but because they really don’t know what they are doing or to whom they are doing it when they hurt us.