Tag Archives: forgive

Pay It Forward

Christian Life, , , ,

PAY IT FORWARD

“Pay it forward” is a brilliant movie about a twelve-year old boy, Trevor, whose school project set by a new teacher at the school, was to do something that would change the world. Trevor’s plan was to do a good deed for someone with the instruction that the recipient “pay it forward”, doing a good deed in return, not to his benefactor, but to three other people in his world who needed help.

Trevor’s plan, though both simple and effective, seemed to stall, leaving him discouraged and disillusioned. However, on his untimely death in the school playground at the hands of a bully from who he was trying to defend a fellow student, hundreds of people turned up at his mother’s home to mourn his loss and to report how his “project” had affected their lives.

God has a “pay it forward” project hidden in His instructions for living the best life. We call these instructions the Ten Commandments but they are actually a part of His marriage contract with His people which He gave them when He proposed marriage to them at Mount Sinai. We will not easily recognise His “pay it forward” principle until we understand something of God’s heart and ways.

One of His imperatives is to “honour your father and mother” so that you will live long in the land God gives you. For many children, this is a difficult if not impossible instruction because they come from broken or dysfunctional homes. Even those have had a relatively uneventful childhood will admit that their parents were not perfect. Every child carries the scars of abuse, neglect or other unwise treatment from their growing-up years. How is it possible to honour parents who have inflicted great damage on a young soul? Is God so unrealistic or idealistic that He expects hurting people just to “forgive and forget”?

God knows us far better than we know ourselves. He is not setting the standard so high that we will never reach it. He has something else in mind, necessary, simple and effective. As far as the past is concerned, He has one prescription for dealing with the damage – not psychiatrists, counsellors, medication or therapy, none of which deal with the root. God’s way is forgiveness. “Cancel the debt and let it go,” is the only effective way to get rid of the baggage of the past.

Why does He insist we forgive? For two reasons: firstly, Jesus paid the debt of all the sin of all people for all time. To hold bitterness, resentment and hatred in our hearts is to negate what Jesus did and put ourselves in the way of judgment. If we refuse to forgive, our sin remains unforgiven.

Secondly, we forgive, not because we must but because we may. Forgiveness sets us free from destructive emotions that threaten both our bodies and souls. Without the death of Jesus to take care of sin, we would have no possibility of forgiving others. We would have to carry our burden to the end of our days. However, He has dealt with the debt of every human being who ever lived and who ever will still live. In spite of whatever anyone has said or done to us, they owe us nothing. Forgiving them frees us from carrying the load.

So, what has this to do with honouring our fathers and mothers? God is more concerned about the future than the past. How we treat our own offspring is more important than how our parents treated us. As far as God is concerned, our past has ceased to exist. All we need to do is let it go. Holding onto bitterness will cripple us and rob us of becoming real sons and daughters of our Father.

We are not responsible for what our parents did to or for us in the past. We are responsible and accountable to God for the way we raise the next generation. We have a choice to make. Are we going to perpetuate the sins of our fathers or are we going to start a new way of living in our families. If we continue to punish our children for our failure to forgive, who will stop the rot and who will teach them the ways of the Lord?

There is another unexpected benefit for us when we bring righteousness back into the family. Those around us will reckon that we must have had godly parents who taught us to walk in God’s ways. Here is the real evidence of honouring our parents. Instead of shining the light on their flaws and failures, we release them and bring honour to them for giving us life and the privilege of giving life to the next generation whom we will guide in and teach the ways of the Lord.

Instead of damaging ourselves by trying to pay our parents back for short-changing us in life, we pay it forward by giving our children the best we can. There is no better heritage for any child than the love, acceptance and affirmation of his parents. Whoever and whatever they are, it is the role of a father and mother to love unconditionally, to accept their children for themselves and not for what they can or cannot do. We are to honour and respect them as God’s gift to raise and send out into the world to pay it forward so that others may see Him in them and come to believe in Him.

But the principle of “paying it forward” works equally well in our relationships with others around us. We live in a “you owe me” or an ”I am entitled to” generation. It’s all about what we can get out of others. Instead of expecting to be repaid for every good deed we do for another, why not adopt a new way of living? Paying it forward means that we expect nothing from the one we have helped. Instead, the kindness is passed on to an unexpected beneficiary who passes it on to another.

Imagine the ripple effect of deeds of kindness that bring joy to the giver and gratitude to the recipient who, in turn passes on the same possibility on in an ever-widening circle! How much better than keeping the good deeds going back and forth between two people.

Jesus put it like something like this, in the words of Eugene Peterson (The Message):

Here is a simple rule-of-thumb guide for behaviour: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. (Matt. 7: 12).

 

Where Was The Sacrifice?

Bible Study, , , ,

WHERE WAS THE SACRIFICE?

“That set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. ’Who does He think He is? That’s blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins.’ Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, ‘Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: to say ‘I forgive your sins,’ or to say ‘Get up and start walking?’ Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorised to do either, or both…’ He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: ‘Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.’ Without a moment’s hesitation, he did it — got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way.

“The people rubbed their eyes, incredulous — and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, ‘We’ve never seen anything like that!'” Luke 5:21-26 (The Message).

Aha! Now it’s clear what the scribes and Pharisees were up to. They were not after Jesus because they loved His teaching or what He was doing. Far from it. They had a more sinister motive for following Him from one end to Israel to the other.

At this early stage in His ministry they had already recognised Him to be a threat to their cushy lives. Instead of applauding Him for rescuing a man from his miserable existence, they pounced on Him for “blasphemy”.

Well, from their point of view, it must have been exactly that. No man had the right to declare anyone else’s sin forgiven unless, of course, he was a priest and the offender had offered the appropriate sacrifice prescribed by the law. But Jesus was forgiving sin as though He were a priest — and where was the sacrifice? They were outraged at His audacity. Wouldn’t you be? But wait a minute. Jesus? Sacrifice? Makes you think!

Then He went and poured fuel on the fire by sending the man home, walking! That put the cherry on the top! He challenged them and they lost. He couldn’t do that unless He had the authority and power from God to heal a man. That meant that He also had the authority to forgive sins, and that pulled the rug from under them.

The people, on the other hand, loved what Jesus was doing. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain by listening, watching and believing in Him. He was so different from their religious leaders who nit-picked about everything and added more and more petty rules to burden their lives. They were excited about what God was doing. They were not interested in theological skirmishes when they were seeing God at work in front of their very eyes.

But what about the paraplegic? It took the determined faith of his four friends to get him in front of Jesus but after that they could do no more for him. It was over to him. What would he do? Hearing Jesus say, ‘I forgive your sins,’ was easy. He didn’t have to do a thing — or did he? Even that took faith and prepared the way for the next step — ‘Get up and walk.’

But what did his sins have to do with his paralysis? As a Jew he was obliged to offer sacrifice for the forgiveness of his sins, but as a paraplegic it was impossible for him to do that. After years of being stuck on a sleeping mat, what a mountain of sin he must have carried on his conscience! But now he was being told that his sin was forgiven — and what’s more he felt it!

With an inner peace he had never experienced in his life, he could activate his unresponsive body in an instant in response to Jesus’ instruction, and that happened too! It took his faith to step into forgiveness and healing.

The scribes and Pharisees were dumbstruck. They had nothing to say to counter His visible proof of His claim — “Son of Man” — and they knew what that meant! But instead of fuelling faith, it only fuelled angry hatred and made them even more determined to do him in, if they could only find a way.

What do Jesus’ words and actions say to you? Do you say that He is the Son of God? It’s a question you and I will have to answer — eventually.

Forgiven

Christian Life, , , ,

FORGIVEN!

“Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution.

“When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified Him, along with the criminals, one on His right, the other on His left.

“Jesus prayed, ‘Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.’

“Dividing up His clothes, they drew dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, ‘He saved others. Let’s see Him save Himself. The Messiah of God — ha! The Chosen — ha!'” Luke 23:32-35 (The Message).

Luke’s story has very little detail. It’s almost as though he deliberately pulled the curtain on Jesus’ suffering. He was sensitive and discreet about his descriptions, writing only about those things which related to the character of Jesus and the fulfilment of prophecy — although he didn’t mention that fact in his story. He was writing about the Son of God, not a sensational tabloid account of a criminal’s last hours. Even Jesus’ criminal companions come in for the same kindly discretion.

Right in the middle of this tragic event there stands a shining light of hope for all of them; soldiers, perpetrators, unfeeling crowd, and even the two guilty men hanging on their crosses beside Him. One sentence echoes down through time, embracing everyone, from the first pair who set the ball rolling to every other person who has lived, and will live, to perpetuate the first pair’s rebellion against their Creator.

“‘Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.'”

Jesus encapsulated in His prayer the reason for this heinous deed, the responsibility for which sits squarely on the shoulders of every person who has lived. “They do not know what they are doing.” He extended forgiveness, then, to all of us now, since we have no idea of the implications of our stubborn rebellion against God.

Do you know how far-reaching one act of selfishness can be in your life? One careless word, one lie, one act of treachery or betrayal, one night of lust, one stolen kiss, one impulsive decision, can ruin a life, a family and even an entire community in a split second. We are left with a lifetime to regret what we did in a moment.

The spilt blood of Jesus speaks up for you even in the situations that leave you helpless and condemned. You did not know what you were doing! That does not excuse your behaviour. Jesus’ sacrifice does not remove the responsibility for our sin. He paid the debt by giving His life for ours, blood for blood, so that the Father’s justice would be fully satisfied.

The implications of Jesus’ gift are huge. Not only has the debt of our sin been paid but also the debt of those who have sinned against us. We no longer have the right to punish those who owe us because it is illegal to punish a person twice for the same sin.

This makes the sin of unforgiveness unforgiveable. It would be morally wrong for God to clear our debt if we refuse to clear the debt of someone who owes us. That makes unforgiveness an “unpardonable” sin which can take even a believer into eternal separation from God.

Jesus lived out His own teaching in the midst of His cruellest suffering. He was innocent, yet He forgave those who were responsible for putting Him there. He was there because He chose to be there, willingly submitting to His Father’s will. There was no other way to reconcile God’s wayward sons and daughters to Himself.

Jesus does not expect us to do what He did not do first. He taught us and showed how by His own impeccable choice to obey the Father to His last breath. He led the way and calls us to follow. In that there is life!

Forgiveness is a Lifestyle

Christian Life, , ,

FORGIVENESS IS A LIFESTYLE

“‘Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times in a day. and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I’m sorry. I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.'” Luke 17:3-4 (The Message).

What Jesus is advocating here is not reluctant and sporadic forgiveness but a generous and open-hearted attitude to people who offend us as a reflection of the Father’s attitude towards us in spite of the way we behave towards Him.

Forgiveness is the foundation of our relationship with God, and His forgiveness stands securely on what Jesus did on the cross. He paid the debt of all the sin of all people for all time when He gave up His life as a sin offering for us.

When we sin against another person, we sin against God. David understood this. He had Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, killed in battle to justify his lust and adultery but, when his sin was exposed, he cried out to God, “‘Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.'” Psalm 51:4 (NIV).

Sin incurs an unpayable debt and only because of God’s mercy, made available to us through Jesus, can He cancel our sin and clear our record of guilt. Because the blood of Jesus has washed us clean of sin for all time, there is nothing that can separate us from His love.

However, God requires a reciprocal attitude from us. Since He has already forgiven the sin of those who sin against us, we have no right to hold them guilty. To do so is to act illegally because we cannot demand payment for what had already been paid for. If we refuse to forgive another, we automatically cancel God’s forgiveness of us. Now that is a scary thought! That means that we will experience separation from God and have to bear our own guilt.

Not to forgive our fellow man for the paltry things he does against us is to misunderstand the greatness of the debt we incurred against God and the enormity of His mercy that provided a way of forgiveness at the cost of His own Son’s life. Because we tend to focus on what the other person has done to us rather than on what we did to God, we hold on to our offences instead of letting them go because we can.

But there is something deeper to this issue of forgiveness. God forgave us through the death of Jesus to restore the unity between Himself and us because the entire universe can only function properly as a unit. When the relationships between humans remain fractured through offenses and forgiveness, the whole of life unravels, leaving in its wake chaos and destruction.

Forgiveness is God’s way of restoring unity with Himself and unity between people. When we forgive and reconcile, we contribute to the healing of our world. When we refuse to forgive, we fail to co-operate with God in His work of restoring everything to its original purpose of reflecting Him in the universe. We add to the destruction of our world.

Since God has already cleared the debt of the one who sins against us, all that is required of us is to look the guilty person in the eyes and declare, “You owe me nothing.” It’s not about making excuses for their failure. It’s about setting them free from their debt and restoring the unity that expresses who God is. And that is not only an act but a lifestyle.