Fathoming Forgiveness

Its hard to fathom, but Jesus forgave, even in his worst hour.  "Father, forgive them..." Jesus prayed, even as He was tortured on the cross.

But here's something even harder to fathom:  we also must forgive, in our worst hour.  But how?

For starters: image forgiveness in fresh, concrete ways.  Once a little boy was utterly confused about forgiveness.  Then his pastor preached on the Lord's Prayer, with special emphasis on the phrase:  "...forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us..."  Well that night, the little boy was ecstatic;  looking up to God he beamed:  "I finally get forgiveness!"  And with that the little boy lit into the Lord's Prayer, praying it as he had never prayed before:  "And forgive us our trash-baskets," he prayed, "as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets!"

Not bad!  For injustice, sin, is trash.  but not just trash persons inflict on us, but trash we inflict on others.  Let's face it:  we can be trashy, unjust people too!  As Isaiah reminds us:  "all...have become...unclean, and all our 'righteous acts' are like filthy rags..."  (Isaiah 64:6).  And so the anonymous writer is right:  "He who does not forgive, burns the bridge over which he himself must pass."

But its crucial to note what forgiveness is not; 1) Forgiveness is not forgetting.  Wrong-doing brings pain, and pain lingers.  Thus, 2) Forgiveness is not a one-time event.  Translated:  forgiveness is normally done incrementally, as we forgive a little more each day.  And lastly, 3) Forgiveness is not always a 'happy ending.'  Sadly, in spite of forgiving, reconciliation and restoration are not always possible.

But then, what is forgiveness.  Well literally in the New Testament, forgiveness is the Greek word 'aphiemi,' which means to 'come out' (Luke 4:39) or to 'send away' (Matthew 6:12).  And what are we to 'send away'?  We're to send away bitterness, resentment, hatred and any notion of revenge.

I remember a friend who had just gone through a bitter divorce; resentment was raging, consuming her life.  And so she did a gutsy thing:  she wrote out her bitterness on a note sheet, stuffed it into a biodegradable bottle, and then released it into the ocean.  I mean she just 'sent it away,' in a bold, gutsy move!

Where do you need to 'send away' your bitterness in a bold, gusty move?  Please don't misunderstand:  I'm not asking that you forget the injustice done against you; I'm asking that you jettison the resentment that is consuming you.  Send it away!

Ultimately, send it to God.  For it's not our role to settle the score, and retaliate.  That's the role of God.  Thus Paul admonishes in Romans 12:  "...do not take revenge, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:  'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord....[Thus] do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good..."  Romans 12: 19-21).

Overcome evil with good.  Let go, sending away injustice, the wrong done to us -- jettisoning it into the compassionate -- righteous -- just-care -- of God!