Truth and forgiveness are intimately intertwined.
It is often the truth of who we are or what we do that
requires forgiveness.
That is what makes the forgiveness of Christ so profound.
I have asked forgiveness of other people innumerable
times. I am guilty of some offense that
requires the salving of my conscience on a regular basis. It is the lack
of truth in my life, thoughts, or actions that leads to the need for forgiveness. It is the inevitable search for truth that ultimately leads to the act of forgiveness.
I may be lying to myself on some point of my
personality. I may have done something
wrong intentionally or not that requires correction. It is the application of truth that determines
whether these things are brought to light and made right, or left uncorrected
to fester and become a thorn in my side.
Have you ever noticed how “one lie deserves another”? No fabrication is made up of just one
line. It’s a whole complicated structure. The further along we go in its construction,
the more difficult it is to come clean with the truth.
Forgiveness.
Mercy.
Absolution.
There is so much tied up in those words it would take a
lifetime to unravel it all.
As a matter of fact, it took a life in order for us to have
access to it.
The process of confession and forgiveness is painful for
both the offender and the one offended.
For the offender he or she must acknowledge that they have
done something offensive. He must see
that someone has been hurt. He must be
willing to provide some recompense for the offense in order to make it
right.
A sacrifice is required.
For the one offended the hurt must be revisited. What did this cost him or her in terms of
pain? What sacrifice can reasonably be
demanded to satisfy the debt caused by the offense? What price will he put on a damaged life? Is he
willing and capable of allowing that debt to be wiped away, and risk
experiencing the same hurt again as if
it had not happened before?
This was the point of Jesus’ dialogue with His disciples when
He was asked how many times someone should be forgiven.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many
times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven
times?"
Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matt. 18:21-22 NIV)
Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matt. 18:21-22 NIV)
Would it be up to the seven times in one day prescribed by Jewish
law? Rather it should be seventy-seven times! It should be far beyond what is considered
humanly possible, because God has taken responsibility for vengeance. It is completely beyond human
expectations. Not only that, but He has
made a relationship with Him dependent on our practice of the forgiveness of
those who have offended us!
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:14-15 NIV)
We must also understand that Truth is dependant on Grace in
order for Forgiveness to be effective.
If I live by Truth alone I will become a legalist. Truth alone does not allow for the impact of
the pain of its existence. Truth and
honesty are virtuous attributes, but can they stand alone as foundational
concepts to our lives without the strength provided for in Forgiveness and
Grace? I don’t think so. Truth is often dealt with in terms of cold
hard facts. “This is the Truth, and
there is nothing else to say about it.
Punishment for the offense must go forward.” This is legalism. There is no quarter given, no compassion
shown. No absolution offered. This is the Law and nothing more.
This is where we begin to gain some concept of the depth of
the Grace and Forgiveness offered by Christ.
Legalism is born of man’s inherent need for vengeance when wronged. For this reason God took away man’s claim to
revenge when He said, “Vengeance is mine.” (Deut. 32:35 NIV) He sealed that claim even further with the
death of Christ. Man is not qualified to
properly demand recompense when he is wronged.
Only God can be completely fair, and in His fairness He also knows that
a sacrifice is required of someone at some point in order to satisfy that need
for vengeance. So He gave His Son to once
and finally satisfy the need for vengeance, as the recompense for peace.
But it really goes even further than this.
According to scripture it is appointed for man to die
once. The sequence of living is no
accident: birth – life – death. That’s
it. There is no continuously repeating
cycle. We die and we gain our
reward.
To die with meaning requires an abundant life, not necessarily a long one.
It’s easy to die for something. Once dead our commitment to this world is
over. Death bed promises made to, or by,
anyone are irrelevant; they mean nothing where we go.
Dying is easy. It’s the living with or through something
that’s difficult.
It is significant to note that Christ did both.
He died for our sins, but then lived again with the intention of living through it
with us again, and again, and again.
Anyone can die, and every one of us will. But dying is only half the commitment. Living again is the other half.
Such is the depth of His commitment. Christ died to prove His point, but He is the only one capable of fulfilling it.
There is no telling what each of us might accomplish with a
life committed to Christ. Only He knows
what we are capable of, and what we will actually do.
Dying is easy – crowns, mansions, streets of gold – not such
a hard choice when you really stop to think about it. It’s living a life of joyful anticipation
that’s difficult.
That is why we are called to be “living sacrifices” (Romans
12:1 NIV).
It is hard to imagine that our greatest joy in this life is
completely overshadowed by the joys of the next, and once having grasped that
concept to then have to wait.
When my oldest daughter Jennifer was a little girl she once
asked, among the enormous volume of questions she had in life, what heaven
would be like. I told her that I didn’t
really know all the details, but it would be beautiful.
“What will we do there?” she asked.
“Well the Bible says we’ll be spending a lot of time
praising God for starters.” I said.
We said our prayers together and put her and her sister to
bed. After a few minutes she yelled for
me in a way that any parent can tell that something is wrong. Her mother and I ran into her room and turned
on the light. She was sitting up in bed
crying.
We went over to her to comfort her thinking that we were
dealing with fears of the dark or something like that. Not so.
“You know when you told me what we’d be doing in heaven?”
she asked.
“Sure.” I said, puzzled.
As she broke into tears again she asked, “What if I get bored?”
I suppose that’s part of the mystery. How does one imagine the things of heaven can
satisfy the needs of man? We have to
look at the possibility of heaven as reality in order for it to have an impact
on the life we’re living now.
Living is the long wait for the best part.
The Truth we live with is that we have dirtied ourselves and
are not qualified or able to obtain the rewards we are promised. Therefore we must be given the cleansing
Forgiveness required by someone stronger, and truthfully qualified, to give
it. Our feet must be washed by the hand
of the Servant King who is the only One clean enough to dispel the filth we have
picked up along the path.
So when next forgiveness is asked of me I must asked myself
if what I give is genuine or is it merely to salve my own conscience? Is the forgiveness I offer the complete
forgiveness of the Sacrifice? Is there
Truth in my Forgiveness, or is it merely palliative to allow myself to feel
better about myself? Does it truly
encompass the desire of the God of heaven?
Forgiveness inspires questions, questions, questions….
And all of their answers require the Truth.
©Dan Bode 2003
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