Today’s Scripture Reading (December
15, 2013): Isaiah 43
Forgiveness
is one of the most misunderstood concepts of our time. For us, we believe that
forgiveness means to let somebody else “off the hook” for the things that they
have done. To not hold them responsible, maybe even to not make them feel bad
for the actions that they have done. When we say that we will never forgive,
what we think we are saying is that we will never allow them rest from that bad
feeling deep inside of them that arises out of the knowledge that they have
hurt us in some way. They will always carry the guilt with them because they
are the unforgiven. But reality is somewhat different. For the most part, the
people that we hold grudges against seldom know that we are holding a grudge,
only that we are acting like idiots. And even if they do realize that we hold a
grudge against them, they often don’t know exactly why. Nor are they staying up
at night worrying about it. We who hold the grudge are the only ones doing that.
The real stupidity with regard to our unwillingness to forgive is that we pay
the double penalty – we pay for the act that was committed against us, and we
keep that act fresh in our lives, paying the price over and over again in
memory, because we will not forgive and we will never forget.
The act of forgiveness
is simply letting ourselves of the hook for the actions that others have taken
against us. A few years ago I had numerous conversations with a woman that felt
that she had been wronged. She could recount every action that had been taken
against her – and not only was this something that she could do, this act of
remembering was a practice that she undertook on a daily basis. Every day she
recounted the crimes that had been committed against her, remembering over and
over again the pain of what others had done to her. As a result her sleep
suffered, her health suffered, even the way that she went about doing her
regular chores suffered. She simply relived the moment over and over again,
vowing never to forgive. In this case I also was in contact with the ones that
had taken the action against her. And not surprisingly they seldom gave this
woman a second thought. They believed that their actions were necessary and
that she was crazy – and absolutely nothing in their lives changed. The woman
paid the double penalty while those she held her grudge against got off free.
Isaiah’s
words in this passage bring up images of God’s forgiveness for us. And often we
seem to read these words with our theological glasses on. We believe that this
passage is talking about his love for us, his love for the lost that is so
great that even the most heinous of sinners can find forgiveness at the cross -
that the debt that needed to be paid for sins, has been paid. God paid it
himself and in order to welcome us into his family, a debt that has been paid
by Jesus us a debt that is no longer even remembered.
And I think
that all of that is there – but there might be an even simpler message that is
also present in this passage. God, even God, is not willing to pay the price
over and over again for things that we refuse to be repentant for. Yes, he has
paid the price, but the next move is really up to us. Either we will stop doing
the things that hurt God, or we will ignore the action of God and let life
continue as it always has. But, what God has paid for, he has truly forgotten. And
even God refuses to be hurt by our repeated sins against him and against his
holiness. What we do with the sins that he has paid for and removed from his
presence – and the life that we decide to continue to live – well, that is
totally up to us. God remembers it no more.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah
44
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