Forgiveness: A Journey of Healing

Forgiving is a journey of healing

If I had to choose one area of life that is the most difficult to do as a follower of Jesus Christ, I would have to pick forgiveness.  I know it doesn’t make sense when you look at it in light of the cross and the forgiveness Jesus has provided for us.  But words hurt.  Personal attacks stay with us.  People who are friends betray us and we are left wondering what we are to do with the broken pieces.  It is tough, raw, and never as easy as it seems it should be.  Deep down in us we want justice.  We want to feel like God has taken care of the problem. (in other people of course, not in us)

I have struggled with this and God has been gracious to give me insights from His Word on this.  What does it look like to forgive someone?  What does it feel like?  And how do you know it is actually done?

Joseph was just another one of Jacob’s sons.  Yet, God had given Joseph a special ability and that really irritated his brothers.  I mean, he sort of rubbed it in, but that is just what siblings do.  So we see them come up with this plan in Genesis 37 to kill him and throw him into a cistern.  Yikes!  My brother annoyed me, but I never planned to do that.  Thankfully Reuben had a little more sense than that and he talked them into just throwing them into the cistern and leaving him there.  So they throw him into the cistern and then they sit there and eat their lunch!  I mean, can you imagine what kind of strange scene that might have been. How do you enjoy your sandwich when your brother is down in a hole yelling for help?  They then end up selling their brother as a slave to Egypt and then telling their father that he is dead.  That is not nice.  Don’t do that!

Fast forward now and Joseph has been given a position of power in Egypt.  He actually ends up being in a position to inflict harm on his brothers who have come looking for food in a  terrible famine.  It was his chance to get revenge.  But what does he do?  In Genesis 45 we see a broken man loving his brothers despite the abuse.  Yes, the same ones who had hurt him so deeply!  What does this tell us about forgiveness?

Forgiving Does Not Mean Forgetting

Genesis 45:2 says that Joseph wept so loudly in this moment that everyone heard him.  This was the heart of a man who saw his brothers, loved his brothers, but felt the pain of what had taken place.  It hurt him deeply.  And yet he decided that he was not going to hurt them.

The other people involved are in pain also

Let’s be honest.  Just because I said that mean thing or did that in anger, it does not mean I am free and clear of the pain.  The pain is shared.  It doesn’t matter who you are, if you have been on the side of the offender, you have been hurt by it also.  I have no doubt in my mind that at some point his brothers kind of said to each other “hey, you know I kind of feel bad about that.”  We have all been there.  So when Joseph starts weeping  it makes these guys panic.  What is he going to do?  Will he hurt us? No.  He has no intention to.  In a true moment of God’s grace here recorded in scripture, they embrace each other, allowing the pain to be released.  And then it says they talked.  What a picture of forgiveness and the grace of God!

Joseph was able to recognize God’s hand in the pain

He said that despite what they had hoped to accomplish in seeing him sold off, God had accomplished his good purposes.  His pain was used to save lives, ironically even their lives.  That is really hard to see in the moment, but what a beautiful mess it really is when we get that.

Let the past remain in the past

After he sends them back to get their father he gives them instructions.  Do not fight on the way back.  I love that because I know I would probably want to have a conversation about who was more at fault in the whole thing.  It is never my idea, is it?  But Joseph is telling them to forget about all of that and just go get dad.  Do not go back in the past.  Let’s move ahead.

This all reminds us of Jesus Christ

This makes us look to Jesus Christ again because he was rejected, sold off and beaten.  He was betrayed in the most cruel ways.  We rebelled and put him on that cross.  Yet, he is willing to forgive us which saves us from our own mess. What a wonderful Savior!   He is willing to send out sins far away and restore our relationship with God.

Oh, God, help us all to be just as kind to other people who wrong us.  It hurts us for sure, but Jesus Christ is able to help us in it. If you are struggling to forgive, look to Jesus Christ.  It is not easy at all, but He understands fully and is able to help.

 

Isn’t this an overreaction? – 2 Kings 2:23-25

One of the greatest stories to bring up with high school students is the story of Elisha’s way of dealing with a bunch of youth.  They called him bald and he prayed and God sent bears to maul them.  Sounds like teens should be nice to their bald youth pastors.  But, why was this the reaction?  At face value, this looks rather harsh.  I mean, couldn’t they have just said, “hey, be nice to the man.”

First, here is the story, if you are not familiar.

From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. “Go on up, you baldhead!” they said. “Go on up, you baldhead!”  He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.  And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. – 2 Kings 2:23-25

The explanation lies in both who the youth were and who Elisha was.  First of all, I asked an Old Testament professor about this and one thing he brought up was that this wasn’t the average youth group.  This was a group of trouble makers, or muggers.  They were comparable to a street gang.  So, sorry youth pastors, I guess if you are balding you can’t use this as a threat.

When they tell him to “go on up” they are not just talking trash.  They are telling him to move on, to get out of town.  Elisha, being a prophet, would not have always received a warm welcome in all places.  Clearly this group was not thrilled with the message he brought and wanted him gone.

With that being said, this had everything to do with opposition to God.  In this case, God dealt with the opposition in a swift fashion.  It is never a good idea to be opposed to God.  This is not a new concept, but just an occurrence where it is done with uniqueness.

It is not an overreaction.  It is the act of an unholy people trying to live in proximity to a Holy God.  This is something that they never did well, which is why Jesus Christ coming was so significant.  Now there was a mediator between God and man.  Now there was an ability to be forgiven of sin and to be viewed as righteous before God.  We could never have done that!

I will say that if you are a teen and have a balding youth pastor, it is still wise to be nice to him.  But, when he tries to ask God for bears to maul you, make sure you remind him of what was really going on there.

And of course — be careful who you taunt. 🙂

My Hope

Tonight is the night that Billy Graham’s message “The Cross” is being aired nationwide.  It is an opportunity for the Gospel.  Let’s make it known and pray for God to use this in powerful ways.

Find out where to watch it here — http://watchbillygraham.com/

Forgiveness is a lifestlye

Forgive me please?

Forgiveness is an important topic because other people so often hurt us.  That is the nature of relationships because they deal with people.  There are so many lessons in these situations for us!  God is not silent about this, but rather He has told us a lot about love and how to live with each other in kindness.  We need to love each other!

God desires fellowship with Himself; He offers Himself to us!  But so many people choose to live away from Him.   Even if you are someone who has received Jesus Christ as your Savior at some point in your life, you still might not be in full fellowship with God. Sin does that.  Sin does move us away from walking in daily dependence with God.

 Forgiveness is closely tied to this because forgiveness touches all areas of our lives!  You cannot walk in fellowship with God if you refuse to forgive people.  When you decide to hold grudges, gossip, hurt others it is directly opposed to God and pushes you away from fellowship with him to a place of isolation.

Forgiveness is needed for fellowship with God.

Forgiveness is a lifestyle

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.- Ephesians 4:29

Unwholesome talk literally means “rotten talk” sort of like road kill in the hot sun.  No one would go down the road, pick up a rotting animal and serve it for dinner.  It is dangerous to eat rotten meat.  You will get sick. It says do not let this rotten talk come out of your mouth.

When you go to the zoo they have an important rule:  “Do not let animals out and do not let people in with them.”   Remember when the lady jumped in to the Polar Bear exhibit a few years back?  That didn’t end well.  You see, the goal is to set up boundaries so that people stay out and the bears stay in.  Do not let the bears out is really wise advice.

That’s the picture here.  Do not let those rotten words to come out of your mouth.  Instead you should let words that are helpful for building people up.

This is more than just saying curse words too.  This means other things as well that destroy relationships

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  – Ephesians 4:31

It says to get rid of these things.   Take them outside, pour gas on them and light them on fire because these things destroy fellowship with God.  But the difference is in verse 32 of Ephesians 4.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32

Be kind, Be compassionate – why?  Because Jesus Christ is those things and He lives in you by His Spirit.

In Matthew 6 we have what is referred to as the Lord’s Prayer.  Jesus told His disciples that when they prayed, they should include certain things including forgiveness.

And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. – Mathews 6:12

Debts are obligations.  What are our debts to God?  Sin! Because the wages for sin is death.  We deserve death because of our sin, but God forgives us because of Jesus Christ.

So then it says, forgive us our debts as, or in the same way, that we forgive our debtors.

We forgive other people because God forgives us.  Except we aren’t very good at it.   But see forgiveness is not something we normally do, it is a lifestyle that needs to be constantly worked through in prayer so that it is lived out.

What sin must we forgive?  Are there limits?  No, we are to forgive it all and let God be the judge.

When we practice this we show God’s work in us because God true and good.  Forgiveness is freedom and forgiveness is where God blesses.  It is what He did for us and what we are to do for others.

People will hurt you. You will hurt other people.  At times this will happen intentionally and at other times not.  But we must not get hung up on it, but extend love, grace, forgiveness.  If we don’t we are running from God.

 

Sin Always Kills, God Always Saves

On September 11, 2001 I was driving school bus before my college classes for the day.  When I got back to the bus terminal I heard that something had happened, but like most people I really didn’t have a very clear picture of all that was taking place.  When I was driving back to the college, listening to the radio, I knew it was serious.  The rest of that day revolved around news reports and confusion.  I remember a few key points of that day.  I remember how quiet it was without planes flying overhead.  I remember the feeling of despair that came with the realization of the amount of people who had just been killed.  There were just too many unknowns to be fully comfortable anymore.  We know that the world has not been the same since.  How could it be? This became a vivid reality for me when I flew home for a weekend in October of 2001 and there were people with large weapons all through the airport.  This was happening in the United States!

That day put a very real face to evil.  It showed us in vivid and tangible way what the result of sin is.  The Bible says that the wages for sin is death.  Sin will lead to death.  If you remember the story of Adam and Eve you will recall that it didn’t take very long for sin to claim its first victim.  Abel was killed by his brother Cain in cold-blooded, premeditated murder.  I guess things don’t change.

Yet we have seen that while sin still kills, there is a way around it.  Jesus Christ came into this world not simply to show us a better way to live.   He wasn’t just an inspirational leader for people.   He came to die for our sins so that we would not have to die for them.  He paid for them with His life.  The only way out of this cycle of sin is in a Savior.  While the world contemplates evil and how to counteract it, we know that evil has already lost.  We know that in Jesus Christ we have victory over sin and death.  Terrorists will kill.  Friends will turn on each other.  Marriages will break apart because of infidelity and sin.  But there is a better way.  There is an answer.  That answer is in Jesus Christ.

I am grateful that He has saved me from my sin.  He also can save you from anything you are dealing with.  There is no limit to what God can do.  He is truly stronger than the worst evil and sin we experience.

Never Forget

You Lack Nothing!

God’s Work – You have all you need in Him

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you lack nothing.  Did you realize that?  I love how freeing that really is.  God has done everything for us.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” – Romans 8:32

That does not mean you will have a mansion and a BMW.  What it does mean is that even in your perceived lack of material items you will still have everything you need in Christ.  God has not even spared His Son for you!   It means that when you experience joy or sorrow you have everything you need.  It means on the days when you car breaks down or the kids get sick that you have all you need in Christ.  If you marriage is in trouble or your job is in jeopardy, you have all you need.

God has loved you and given Himself to you.  Your job is to trust and receive His life.  Let’s remain calm and live in His daily grace for us.

The Gospel – New Life

Why is it that it can feel so complicated for us to share the Gospel with people?  The message is so simple.  We must surrender our lives to Christ in repentance and faith.  This video I watched the other night and it explains it so well.  Here are three real stories of lives that have been changed as they wrestled with questions. It is 28 minutes long, but I would recommend watching it at some point.