January 19
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts
Forgiving Those Who Don’t Think They Need Our Forgiveness
We must live our lives by this cardinal rule: “Seek at all costs to speak and act in ways that will bring no regrets.” It’s pretty safe to say that we will never regret being too free with our forgiveness, whereas stinginess in forgiving may cause pain, to ourselves and others, that will not be easily assuaged. The greatest test of a forgiving heart is being able to forgive those who have no idea they need your forgiveness. A loved one rudely ignores or crassly criticizes you, or misrepresents your character or motives to others (yes loved one, for who would be all that bothered by the slights of someone who is little more than an acquaintance?) You want to strike out, if not in retaliation, at least in self-defense. You want to set the record straight and reestablish the equilibrium of righteousness in your relationships. Sounds good. Sounds right. But…it won’t work. You’ll surely say or do what you will eventually regret. How much better to follow the tack of Jesus, and forgive now, ahead of time, the one who has no idea of his offence. Knowing now what your persecutor will know eventually will change your hurt into pity, and your hatred into compassion. Your realizing now how sorry he will be later will not only heal you of the pain you feel, but will also serve as a catalyst toward the healing of your enemy. To forgive now, ahead of time, is Christ-likeness of the first order, for didn't Jesus forgive, while on the cross, those who were killing Him, long before they understood their desperate need of that forgiveness? And didn’t that Christlike disciple, Stephen, do the same? Both freely offered forgiveness while being killed by those they were forgiving. This kind of forgiveness is without doubt the hardest thing Christ could ever ask you to do, for it seems to suck the lifeblood right out of you. But didn’t our Lord also say that “unless a seed of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it will abide alone; but if it dies and is buried, it will bear much fruit”? The last thing Jesus said before succumbing to crucifixion (and Stephen, before he was blasted and buried by stoning), was to ask God not to charge their killers’ wickedness to their account, for they were doing it in ignorance. Think about how much easier it would be to forgive someone whose offenses against us were driven more by ignorance than by outright hatred or evil. Although it is just as necessary to forgive in either case, shouldn’t we offer the benefit of the doubt to our persecutors, who may think they are doing God’s business? After all, how many times have we done the same to others?
You're off to a good start Pop.
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