What is forgiveness? The more I talk with people the more I am convinced that this is a hard concept to understand. Our post-Christian society is moving further from our Judeo-Christian values, and we are seeing an increase in misunderstanding or ignorance in the importance of forgiveness. Look at the newsfeed articles or television programs that are constantly flooding our minds with injustice. Groups and organizations are formed to stand up for those who cannot, and they exist to right the wrongs and bring justice to their special interests. The problem is that they are not satisfied and do not offer healthy solutions because they would lose their reason to exist. Let that sink in. The special interest groups continue to exist, and it has wrongly taught generations of people that justice is the only path to fix their problems.
To understand forgiveness we need to understand justice. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition for “Justice” is: “The maintenance or administration of what is just, especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.” This is where we get “administration of justice” pertaining to law enforcement. Our society has laws. We break the law, and law enforcement is there to administer justice. The consequences are then applied according to what the law states as a punishment or satisfaction. We look to this as being fair and just. The problem is that not every broken law is enforced, every punishment is not just, and injustice can create problems both socially and personally. So, what is our solution?
Let us go back to God’s word, and what He has given us as a guide and example of what we need to do with our need for justice. In the Sermon On The Mount, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. He instructed them to pray that God would forgive their trespasses or debt, and that we are to do the same to those who trespass or have debt against us. He concluded it by saying: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sin, your father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14,15. The Apostle Paul backed up the words of Christ in his letters, particularly in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3, that we are to forgive each other just as Christ has forgiven us. We need to learn how to forgive.
Jesus was our ultimate example of how we are to forgive. The story of our forgiveness started in the very beginning. In the beginning God created mankind in His image, male and female, so that we could have a relationship with Him and each other. Mankind broke that relationship by sinning (not only against God but against each other too), and because God is just and holy, our punishment was eternal separation. Justice was satisfied. But, God was not satisfied. His nature is to love us, and He would not be satisfied unless we were with Him and had a relationship with Him. God created us to love because He is love. 1 John 4 tells us that love comes from God, and that we are to love one another. God ultimately showed His love for us by sending His Son to the world to sacrifice Himself on a cross, so that the justice for our sins could be administered and satisfy the law. Jesus took injustice on Himself by dying on the cross to satisfy the justice required by the law, and in doing so he opened up the power of forgiveness. While Jesus was on the cross He asked God to forgive the men who crucified Him! (Luke 23:34)
Jesus gave us many examples of forgiveness, but one parable can sum up what He is talking about in Matthew 18:21-35. Jesus compared mankind to a servant who owed the king 10,000 bags of gold, and when it was time to settle the debts the servant did not have enough gold to repay. The consequences were to be thrown in prison until the debt was paid off. The servant knelt down and begged the king to be patient with him, and he promised to repay his debts. The king was so moved by the servant that he decided to forgive the servants debt completely. But, once the servant left he found a fellow servant who owed him 100 silver coins and demanded that he repay the debt. The fellow servant begged him to be patient, and he promised to repay what he owed. The servant had no compassion on his fellow servant and had him thrown into prison until he could repay. This is a picture of unforgiveness. The king found out about the servant who he had just forgave, and he was furious. He ordered that the servant, who was forgiven of great debt, be thrown into prison until his debts were repaid. Here is the application: We have a great debt to our God who is our King. The justice our fellow man owes us pales in comparison to what we owe God. How can we withhold the forgiveness that was given to us by our God from our fellow man?
So, what is forgiveness? It is a daily practice of carrying our cross and satisfying the requirements of justice by administering love in its place. If we are created in God’s image than we will never be satisfied with mere justice because He was not satisfied with ours. God administered love on the cross to a creation that broke their relationship with Him. We rejected God’s commands and ultimately brought punishment on ourselves. Because of His love for us, He died for us and gave us a choice to accept His love or reject it. Love cannot exist without the possibility of rejection. And, by administering love on the cross He gave us a roadmap to forgiveness and repairing our relationship with Him. The only thing that is required by God to repair our relationship with Him is forgiveness and love. Not justice alone. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death (eternal separation), but (forgiveness of our sins) the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul goes on to say in Romans 10:9,10, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in you heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Do you need to ask for forgiveness? Are you separated from God? Are you separated from people in your life? Do you need to forgive them? We have to forgive one another. It is the only thing that can satisfy us. Without forgiveness we are in broken relationship. And, without forgiveness for others, God will not forgive us.
