“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
Dear Ones:
In the book of Isaiah, the contrast is made between our thoughts and ways, and those of God. Isaiah writes: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Is. 55:8) We find here a difference between the ways and thoughts of God, as compared with our own, to be incalculable, and so much “greater.” In the consideration of forgiveness, with respect to that which is of God, and that of man, the same difference is true. The holy quality, and magnitude, of the forgiveness of Christ, as opposed to the efforts and capacities of men to forgive others, is incomparable. Why is this so?
We begin with the perfection of God the Father. The concept and act of forgiveness is of Divine origin. Thus, its nature and essence is holy. In the Lord’s prayer, (Matt. 6:9) we are taught to begin our prayer by addressing our Father IN HEAVEN. We are then instructed to pray: “…Thy will be done in earth, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.” How is forgiveness “done” in heaven? It is by God Himself, Christ our life, by the power of the Spirit, and according to the criteria that the Eternal God has set for time and eternity. The Apostle Paul, in writing to the believers in Ephesus, wrote on this subject: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, EVEN AS GOD FOR CHRIST’S SAKE HATH FORGIVEN YOU.” (4:32) What is he saying here? We cannot forgive, according to our own ways, thoughts, and means. We are called upon to forgive by obligation in a certain way, and this BY Christ, and according to the criteria of Christ. What then does it mean to truly forgive?
Forgiveness from God is for “transgressions,” those acts and attitudes which are a contradiction to His nature and ways. With that concept of acting contrary to God in word or deed, comes a corresponding meaning of “debt,” owing God for that which we should be and do, ever falling short of it. We are debtors to the God who created us, and debtors because of Christ who redeemed us. We own Him everything. To transgress is to incur debt, that which we deliberately refuse to pay, even cannot pay. So then, how then does God forgive us?
Paul, in writing of being saved through faith by grace, declares: “…and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God.” (Eph. 2:8) God, first of all, comes to us because of His LOVE for us. There is no other explicable reason. In some small way, it is as the hymn-writer put it: “He (deliberately) looked beyond my faults and saw my need.” The second way in which He deals with us is by His MERCY. This is that attitude and action of God which puts aside every reason, and argument, for which He should NOT intervene to save, and forgive. And yet, He CHOOSES to do so anyway. And lastly, God intervenes because of His GRACE, that unmerited favor that He manifests towards those who are “weak and worn,” “weary and heavy laden,” “…having not hope, and without God in this world.” So, His principle motive is love. He looks beyond our faults (sins), to see our need. And then He intervenes, stretching forth His hand to save, lifting us up out of our helpless and lost estate. How does this relate to forgiveness? Forgiveness is based on the same love, mercy, and grace. It is Divine, and a sovereign act and attitude of God. It is a total, volitional, blotting out of the transgression (s), and an erasing of all debt for time and eternity. All is paid! All is wiped away! This is God’s standard for forgiveness, and it is THIS that He would have us seek Him for in our dealings with others.
In the Sermon On The Mount, the Lord Jesus addressed the issue of loving one’s enemies, blessing those that curse you, doing good to them that hate you, and praying for those who despitefully use you. In this context, He then declares: “…that ye may BE the children of your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:44,45) His point is that we are to forgive on this earth according to the same pattern and power “…as in heaven,” for we are to reflect the disposition and heart of our Father in heaven.
Dear Father, anoint our eyes to see and understand forgiveness as You see it. And give us grace, not to settle for anything less than the very forgiveness of Christ in our dealings with others. Fill us with love Divine, for “love covers a multitude of sins.” We praise and thank Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad