March 13, 2011:

Ponderings of a Pilgrim PASTOR

“Why Forgive?”

"I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who do harm to you. That is what it means to be sons and daughters of our God in heaven. God has created our world in such a way that the sun rises on both evil and good people, and the rain falls on everyone no matter what we have done."

— Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:44-45 Altered

Everyone says that forgiveness is a great idea until they have something to forgive. Thank of what we say to ourselves:

"How can I forgive him/her after what he/she did to me?"

"Maybe I could forgive someone who hurt me if he/she first apologized to me. Why should I forgive someone who is not sorry for what he/she did?"

"Forgiving some people simply encourages them to do what they did again."

"I may forgive what happened to me but I’ll never forget it."

Let’s be honest: forgiving those who have done something bad to us is one of the hardest things in life to do. And why should we try to do it anyway? There is only one reason: other people have as much or more to forgive that we have done to them! You don’t think so? My friend, you are living in a cold, lonely place of denial.

Of course, as Christians we believe there is an even better reason to forgive other people. The Lord’s Prayer that we offer so glibly each Sunday tells us that God will forgive us only to the extent that we forgive others. Still think you don’t have to?

The great Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard told the story of a man consumed by anger at what someone had done to him. He went up a mountain and shouted in rage across the valley: "I demand justice!" The words came back: "I demand justice!" Dropping to his knees he called out: "Mercy!" And the word came back: "Mercy."

Forgiving God, give me the spirit of forgiveness even when I would rather nurture my wounds than have them healed.

Love,
Pastor Dave