Q: Can God be all forgiving? Can He let serial killers and child molesters into heaven? Or is there a point that comes when even HE cannot forgive?
A: God can be and is all forgiving. He is the epitomy of grace and He tells us in the often quoted verse John 3:16 that He loves us SO much that he gave His only son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life. Nowhere in this verse does he make a stipulation...
on an individual’s history of sin.
Daniel did a message not long ago where he talked about “a little thing” he “likes to call justification by comparison.” It’s where we look at individuals and compare ourselves…”well, I’m not as bad as that person”. It is human nature to assess how bad certain sins are. When, in reality, God doesn’t set varying levels of sin. Sin is sin. Lying, using God’s name in vain, murder, cheating on your taxes, cheating on your spouse…it’s all the same. While the pain and earthly consequences of those actions are obviously different, the impact they have on our being righteous enough to enter heaven are the same. We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God. Without God’s grace, NONE of us are worthy of the Kingdom of heaven. But the beauty of it is…with God’s grace, ALL of us are capable of entering that Kingdom.
The hard part, I think, is recognizing the above statement as “beauty”. Jesus actually tells a great parable- the story of The Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) If you’ve not read it, take a moment and check it out. In the story, the older brother represents the Pharisees, who at the time were really angry and bitter that “sinners” were being welcomed into the kingdom of God.
I think it’s just as easy for us to fall into the same trap as the Pharisees – where we actually resent God’s forgiveness of others who are “way worse sinners” than we are. Instead, we are told to rejoice and celebrate when others come to Jesus. Our focus should not be on the past of others but rather on Luke 15:32 “…celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Serial Killers in heaven?
Forgiving the Unaware Offender
Q: When you are angry with someone, how can you forgive them if they don’t even know you’re upset?
A: Forgiveness is something we are told to do throughout the Bible – in fact we are told in Matthew 6:14-15 that if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive our sins. Forgiveness is an act of letting go. It is something you do for you as much as for someone else. Being angry with this person who doesn’t even know you’re mad is...
corrupting your heart, not theirs. It is creating an environment for bitterness, anger and hurt to fester…all the while having no effect whatsoever on your offender. Letting go of this anger, truly forgiving this person – in your heart - which means understanding the impact and working through it…not dwelling on it anymore…seriously letting it go – allows you to move on and creates room in your heart for love, peace and grace…the things that are supposed to be there.
When I find myself struggling with forgiveness or dwelling on something in the past that I allegedly had already forgiven, I always think of a line in The Lord’s Prayer that says, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us”. My interpretation of that line is – “Father, please forgive me for all of the things I’ve done to hurt You – the same way that I forgive those that hurt me.” In that context, it is more important than ever that I not only forgive those who hurt me, but I do so with the grace and compassion that I am asking for from my Father in heaven.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Forgive AND Forget???
Q: What about forgiving and forgetting – do you have to do both?
A: Years ago, Pastor Ron did a sermon about forgiveness in which he touched on this topic. I remember it so clearly because I was having such an intense struggle with forgiveness issues at that time. I was becoming re-acquainted with my faith after years away from God and was allowing bitterness to creep into my heart, which played out in many of my actions, etc. I kept praying about forgiveness, but continued to struggle as I could not allow myself to reconcile a friendship with a person that had hurt me deeply.
What I learned during that message literally changed my life. That day, I learned that there is a difference in dwelling on past hurts and remembering past hurts. We are instructed to forgive, we are not instructed to forgive and forget. In fact, remembering is encouraged time and time again throughout The Bible. Remembering is a key component to growth.
During the message, Pastor Ron gave the example of a business person who discovered that an employee had been stealing from them and so they fired the employee. He made it very clear that there was a definite need on the part of the employer to forgive the employee. But, then he posed the most interesting question. If you truly forgive the employee, does that mean you would have to rehire them?
The answer was “no”. You have not forgotten what happened. You do not have to “forget” to use good judgment by not placing that person in a position where they have the opportunity to steal again. Forgiving them just means you have let it go. You are not dwelling on it anymore. You are not sitting around making a game plan on how you are going to get back at them.
After that day, I did reconcile that friendship…but on different terms. I have forgiven this person. I do not bring up the events that took place so long ago. I do not dwell on revenge. At the same time, I do not allow myself to be in the same situation I was in before when I got hurt.
Why?
Because I didn't forget.
