Remitted part 2
Forgiveness is a done deal. Jesus took away the sin of the world. Cried out from the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Put us in a place where we don't have to fear God. We can run TO Him instead of running FROM Him. The problem that we seem to find ourselves in is that even though we ARE in that place... a lot of the time it doesn't seem like it. At all. A lot of the time it seems like God is holding a grudge. Because WE are holding grudges. And we are God's representatives on the earth. Religious folk especially, are like elephants--they never forget. And rarely ever forgive, if we're being honest. Religious folk will remember stuff that you're not even sure you did. And they'll beat you bloody with it. You talk about condemnation. Whosoever's sins you don't remit... are not remitted. If you won't let it go, how are they supposed to? So even though they ARE forgiven, if you don't let what's true BE true... it sure doesn't feel like forgiveness. If you treat someone like they aren't forgiven... what does it mean to BE forgiven? And, yes, I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who will point to God giving us a pass on the old eternal punishment deal. But if you know me at all you know my focus is on LIFE. Living. Jesus came to give us LIFE and that more abundantly. We were given this life in order to LIVE, not just to try to ensure a good seat in the afterlife. So my question remains: What does is mean to be forgiven? On a daily, rubber meets the road, person to person level. I think it means restored relationship. On a person to person level. Not holding things against people. And, listen, this can be really tricky. I know it can. Burn me once and I'm that much less likely to get near the fire. Lie to me once and it's that much harder for me to believe you. Actions do have consequences. That's just a fact of life. What's that old saying? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on ME." Turning the other cheek isn't about standing there and letting someone continually slap the mess out of you. It's about not retaliating. It's about giving people a chance. But you know what I've found to be better than apology after apology? Changed behavior. If you lie to me, and I trust you again... don't lie to me again! Take that chance--take the remittance of your sin, if I can say it that way--and do something good with it. Let me say it like this: I heard a preacher once say, "If you cheat on your wife God will NOT be mad at you. But your wife certainly will be!" Not being afraid of God isn't supposed to give us "license to sin." It's supposed to give us freedom to love. That's what grace is! It's freedom FROM sin... and freedom TO love. There's the key. Forgiving people is about loving people. Remitting their sins so that they aren't stuck in them. AND so that WE aren't stuck in them. One more quote for today: "Forgiving someone is like unlocking the cell door, only to realize that YOU were the one in prison." Forgiving people set the FORGIVER free. WE don't have to hold on to those hurts anymore. WE can be free. We can experience freedom in the act of forgiving others... and it comes from the place of knowing that we are all forgiven!