The Offense of Forgiveness
Who doesn’t need to experience forgiveness?
To feel freed from someone’s criticism and anger? From their guilt and accusation?
Who doesn’t need to experience forgiveness?
To feel freed from someone’s criticism and anger?
From their guilt and accusation?
Offense brings with it judgment and recrimination. Its attitude is one of superiority. A belief of supreme knowing that casts all kinds of insinuations and insults on others.
Offense feels justified. Especially if we find others who agree with us about whoever we feel offended by. Then, comes the bit we looked at last week. Retaliation. We feel justified in getting back at that person. Whomever has offended us.
They say revenge is sweet. Is it? Or is forgiveness sweet?
Hanging on the cross, experiencing hours and hours of horrific pain and agony from the act of being crucified, after sustaining hours and hours of ghastly torture and suffering, Jesus, the One who perhaps could be most justified in being offended by the the ones who abused and killed Him, not to mention the ones who completely misunderstood Him, could have cursed everyone.
But . . .
But, rather than exact revenge and retribution on His torturers, Jesus forgives them.
That’s right.
He forgives each and every one of them.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34, NIV).
Instead of reacting in anger and revenge, Jesus turns offense into the love He lived out in forgiveness. Exactly what He teaches you and me,
“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” (Matt 5:44, NLT).
Jesus shows us how to respond to offense, with forgiveness.
Is it popular at the moment? No!
Is it easy? No!
But then, the way of Jesus is never popular or easy.
It is sacrifice, saturated by love.
Loving sacrifice cuts right into our base reactions to offense, ones of anger and revenge, and, instead, forgives.
This is the peace of God. The very thing everyone is looking for at the moment in our terribly roiled world. And in the pain and chaos of our personal lives.
Who immediately comes to mind to forgive?
How might you forgive him or her, or even yourself?
What might you say or do?
