“Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34) – The first of the seven sayings of Jesus while hanging on the Cross is a life-transforming statement. In fact, Jesus’ forgiveness was not a response to a request, rather it is His very nature; He wills to forgive. Even with the agony of the crucifixion, He pleaded with the Father to forgive those who had actually wronged Him, those who had gone to the extent of mercilessly crucifying Him! Jesus exhibited the Father’s heart of forgiveness.
Jesus’ heart went out to those who would die in their sin. Standing on behalf of these sinful masses, the Saviour forgave them and snatched their souls from eternal condemnation. Forgiveness is an essential attribute in our Christian walk. To understand what forgiveness is, let us start with unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is a sin we wilfully and deceitfully hoard in our heart.
It’s a sin by which we are telling God that we will not forgive His child. Jesus rebuked the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees every time in this matter. The results of unforgiveness are: Cast away from the Lord’s Presence: Though God is Omnipresent, the reference here is to a spiritual casting away from the Lord’s presence. The pain and hurt of being away from God could be felt tangibly.
A stony heart that does not forgive others is cast away with a ruptured relationship with God. Cain was cast away from the Lord’s presence as punishment for heinously murdering his brother Abel, all the days of his life, Gen.4:13, 14, 16. David’s response to God’s rebuke by prophet Nathan after his adultery with Bathsheba was – “Cast me not away from your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me” Psa.51:11.
The over-filling presence of the Lord and the in-dwelling presence of the Holy Spirit were sorely absent! God’s presence in us will make a difference, but He cannot stay with an unforgiving person. Results in Further Sins: If unforgiveness is not dealt with at the early stage itself, it will lead to further sins. There will be a sore change in attitude that in all possibilities could give rise to jealousy, anger, hatred, division, enmity and a lot more uncalled-for sins! Gen.27:41 tell that exiting from his father Isaac’s tent with fury, Esau was planning to kill his own brother Jacob for stealing his blessings! Unforgiveness eventually leads to a revengeful attitude. We are more vulnerable to sin and other evil acts, when we linger in unforgiveness.
Judas refused to forgive himself and his offender. His offence made him feel so guilty that he threw the 30 silver coins given to him and went and hanged himself. Unforgiveness always results in further sins, in fact, it ultimately results in death in every area of our life – morally, spiritually and physically. Despises God’s forgiveness: The classic example is Jonah. First, he never wanted to take God’s message to the Ninevehites. Then, when he finally gave the message and the Ninevehites repented he began to scorn them.
God was able to forgive them, but Jonah stood to judge them! He found it hard to accept God’s forgiveness for the people of Nineveh, and despised even the abounding grace of God (Jonah 4:1ff). Luke 15 – The second best example is in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The elder brother despised his father’s act of forgiving his younger brother.
He despised his father’s forgiveness and hence couldn’t rejoice and celebrate at the feast. An unforgiving heart will despise God’s forgiveness towards the sinner; all the more, it makes the person lose God’s blessings for oneself. Let us see the necessity to forgive. Necessity to Forgive: Forgiveness – God’s Greatest Attribute. The very nature of God is to forgive (cf. Exo.34:7; Dan.9:9). God forgives and throws our sins away from us. As far as the east is from the west, so far does God remove our transgressions away from us. Neither does He keep any record of our wrongs. He closes all the previous accounts.
God forgives and forgets. For Our Relationship and Joy in the Lord to be restored: The symbolic representation of the heavenly Father in the parable of the Prodigal son shows Him as a father who forgives. The father forgave the son who came back home and restored his son-ship back to him. The reconciled and restored relationship birthed fresh joy and trust (Lk.15). “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.” (Psa.51: 8). Sin had come between God and David and had stolen his God-given joy.
He cries out to God pleading for His mercy, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation…” (Psa.51:12). David had lost that precious joy and peace in that lustful act. Instead of asking for forgiveness from God, his plans attained fruition and he got Bathsheba’s husband killed! If God Himself will not stay in an unforgiving heart, definitely His joy too will not overflow in life. For God to forgive our sins: In the Disciples’ Prayer, Jesus taught one of the greatest formulas to be away from the wrath of God.
He mentions in Lk.11:4 – “Forgive our sins, even as we forgive those who sin against us.” When the other person cries out for mercy, God will forgive, but unless and until we forgive, it is accounted as our sin against God. It is easy to ask for forgiveness rather than forgiving others for wrongs committed against us. But, our forgiveness acts as the key to open doors that release His miracles and greater blessings. For God’s Blessings to be Released in Ministry: Jesus, with not even the slightest sign from the Roman soldiers and others to even stop hurling insults at Him, forgave them. When Jesus can forgive His own murderers, we become stingy in forgiving unimportant hurts. We blow up insignificant and immaterial ones so much that they become more consequential. A Believer is characterised by the fact that though the hurt is evident, yet forgiveness flows without question in the former. This paves the way for God, the eternal source of comfort and strength to heal and bind broken hearts. We need to exemplify God’s forgiveness and love through our actions. Our life should be worth emulating.
Author: Ms. Angel Stephen has completed her Master of Divinity from Southern Asia Bible College, Bangalore and M.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication. She is presently working in a Christian organization in Nagpur.
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