Ever think about what forgiveness means? I think we have an idea in our heads, but is it correct? Some may think forgiveness comes when the person offended is no longer offended, like they finally "got over it" and could then forgive the other party. Others might say something along the lines of "I'll forgive but will never forget". Well... that sounds... better I suppose. At least there's forgiveness. But let's take a look at a couple of issues here.
If I have to "get over it" before I can "forgive" someone, then I am saying there is a condition for forgiveness. That condition is... either time passing, or someone doing enough to "make up" for it. So this is conditional forgiveness. Under a certain "condition" then forgiveness is free to occur.
Proponents of the above argument may attempt to justify their feelings by using the sacrificial system of the Hebrew Bible, i.e., performance of sacrifices = forgiveness of sins (conditional forgiveness).
However, if you think God required blood to forgive sins, you are mistaken.
- "For I desire goodness, not sacrifice; Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6
- "What need have I of all your sacrifices?" says the Lord. "I am sated with burnt offerings of rams, And suet of fatlings, and blood of bulls; and I have no delight in lambs and he-goats" Isaiah 1:11
- "because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Hebrews 10:4-10
If you think "Well, it's really talking about the blood of Jesus that forgives sins, so Jesus had to die for God to forgive sin" then we are also in a pickle...
- "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." Matt. 9:2
- "...the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" Matt. 9:6
- "Then Jesus said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.'" Luke 7:48
Some may so, "So what? Jesus died for our sins. Of course he can forgive." (Clears throat) Don't forget, all these things happened before Christ died. Forgiveness does not require blood. If it did, that guy next to Jesus on the cross would have been out of luck (not to mention EVERYONE ELSE who never heard about the sacrifice thing).
(And don't get hung up on the "Jesus dying" part of things. Jesus brought us eternal life through his resurrection. He didn't have to die for God to forgive us. Just read my other stuff if your new to the blog).
If you still don't believe me, just look at the Israelites who were captured and sold into slavery by the Egyptians and the Babylonians, preventing them from any sort of temple sacrificial behavior. Were they all doomed unless they somehow killed an animal? Of course not. Forgiveness comes through God's grace.
God does require a condition, but that condition is not fulfilling certain tasks to make it up to him. His only condition is honest repentance.
When it comes to us and how we should forgive others, we always seem to be looking out for #1. It's about making sure we don't get hurt anymore. What does Paul say about love? We've heard it a lot but it's worth noting that love "keeps no record of wrongs... always trusts, always hopes... is never proud... not self-seeking..." (1 Corinthians 13). Love makes us vulnerable, and forgiveness even seems naive, but that's what love is. If our love for others causes us to get screwed over by those very people and nailed to a piece of wood, that's just part of it. You think I'm crazy? Well, that's what it means to be a Christ-follower. We know this to be true, because it was true for Christ himself.
Forgiveness means choosing to live with the consequences of other people's actions. If you have not chosen to "live with it" then you haven't forgiven it.
If you wanna get down to it, forgiveness is more radical than most can even imagine. Forgiveness means crying out "Father, forgive them!" while they're still hammering in the nails.
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