Forgiveness

 Forgiveness

Then Jesus said, “Father forgive them,

For they do not know what they do”-Lk.23:34

 

There is a God who knows your pain.

 

Your unspoken griefs are not concealed from Him. The indelible scars of your wounds with all their attendant miseries are not hidden from the One who knows all. Omniscience knows what you’ve gone through and He sees how you have been unjustly treated.

 

This God, however, watches out for your response. You’ve brooded over this injustice for long. Nurturing bitterness as the scars of the past refresh your memory about the ills of which you were a victim is eating up the vitality of your soul.

 

The Lord God calls you to learn from His Son Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus came to His own people but they rejected Him [Jn.1:11]. Though He is the Savior, they referred to Him as a Samaritan [Jn.8:48]. He came as the Deliverer but was regarded as a demoniac [Jn 7:20]. For His love, He constantly gained hatred.

Witness human wickedness as mortal hands struck the Immortal. In a bid to hurriedly incriminate the holiest among men, see how a kangaroo court was hurriedly set up at night. Stand in bewilderment as men were bribed to lie against Truth. Observe how those who previously ate His loaves of bread, hailed the heathen soldiers as they burst His blood vessels with their whips. Notice treachery, as shouts of “Hosanna!” gave way to cries of “Crucify Him!!”

 

Follow keenly as spikes were driven into the outstretched arms of the Son of God. Raise your head and see how the dearest Son of God was suspended between the heavens and the earth on a Cross meant for criminals. Shudder In disgust as soldiers gambled for His garments beneath the Cross, while His blood drenched the soil in steady drips.

 

Listen as His mother’s cry of plea was drowned in the jeering shrieks of railing contempt from the hateful mob. See how water and blood mingled in answer to the probing of a Roman spear. Rather weep as the Son of God expired, while the sun from above His head bore witness against the various pharisaical gazes that attended the Cross from below.

 

In spite of all the dishonor and abuse, the Lord Jesus petitioned His Father to forgive the wickedness of men. He simply could have called down doom on them but He chose instead to forgive their evil deeds. The Holy Spirit through the apostle’s pen tells us, Let this mind be in you which also was in Christ Jesus—Phil.2:7. The mind of Jesus is One of forgiveness.

 

Certainly this is a difficult thing to do. But the grace of God is available for all who will forgive. The willingness to forgive is an evidence of the gracious work of God in our hearts.

 

Unwillingness to forgive does us no good. It does nothing to undo the deed that had already been done; rather it robs us of joy and darkens our days. Each time we recall the acts of wickedness meted out to us, the desire to revenge follows and in doing so, bitterness is established.

 

The word of God says that our glory is to overlook a transgression—Prov.19:11. The converse is also true. The unwillingness to forgive is a corruption that places us in the same niche with those against whom we hold grudges.

 

Had God withheld His Son Jesus from us, the tragedy that awaited mankind would have defied description. But God did not return wickedness for wickedness, instead, He turned around the wickedness of man by making the crucifixion of Christ an event that would result in the highest and unparalleled good of humanity.

 

In the same vein, we are not to seek revenge or the downfall of those who have done evil to us. Justice must surely have its way, but that is for the Lord to determine. Those who perpetrate evil acts do not know that there is a Person behind the scenes. And like pawns on a spiritual chessboard, every move we make is of consequence.

 

Man’s inhumanity to man will surely be visited by the King of Retribution Himself; Vengeance is mine I will repay says the Lord—Rm.12:19, It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you. And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels—2Thess.1:6-7.

 

The Lord will surely vindicate us. He reserves the right to administer vengeance. If we attempt to do so by ourselves, we take the place of God. To nurture grudges and bitterness is to disbelieve the Word of God  which says that He will surely repay. This explains why we cannot receive forgiveness from God if we refuse to forgive those who offend us.

 

We may live with the scars for the moment, but God will certainly fight for us. Have you ever wondered why someone just ran mad on the streets? Some of these things occur following the verdicts of Divine retribution. Many who struck down the saints of God in northern Nigeria ran mad, shouting “Blood! Blood!! Help! Help!! The pastor is after me!!” No one was really after them as far as the physical eye could see, but those people had the blood of the saints on their hands and justice was following hard after them. The story is no different in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where many innocent lives were lost to the sons of the devil and most of those stained with their blood are now reaping what they have sown.

 

An English lady slaved for a black guy to sponsor his education. He promised her marriage in return, but upon graduation he absconded and came back to his family In Africa. Justice demanded his life in a ghastly motor accident and his wife was widowed.

 

The scriptures tell us of David, who took the wife of Uriah and had him executed. Though forgiven by the Lord, he still had to face the consequences. The wicked act of David established the continuance of conflict in David’s home and paved the way for the violation of his wives by his own son [2Sam12:10-12].

 

The Scriptures abundantly affirm the certainty of justice, the administration of which is reserved as the prerogative of God alone. While God does His work, let us busy ourselves with that which is required of us, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head—Rm.12:20. We are to repay evil with good. The ones who treat us wickedly should be the objects of our love. This is the essence of godliness. Our loving response to their wickedness testifies to the veracity of our faith on the one hand, and on the other abides as a monument of  rebuke and judgment to them [Phil.1:28].

 

My friend, our Lord Jesus loves you. He knows, sees and feels what you feel. He cares for you and wants you to withdraw from the cocoon of bitterness into the liberty of His Spirit by forgiving the wrongs of men. Remember, your very own forgiveness depends largely on whether you forgive your fellow human beings or not [Mtt.6:15]. To lay claim to loving God while being unable to love and forgive men whom you can see, is an expensive joke [1Jn.4:20].  The Bible says, Whoever hides hatred has lying lips—Prov.10:18.

 

Thus I beseech you, even in the words of the Lord Jesus, to let your blessings and prayers accompany your acts of forgiveness, But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven…Mtt.5:44-45.

                                                

Bearing one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; Even as Christ forgave you,So you also must do—Col.3:13