Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday May 24, 2007

What do you do when the idea of wringing someone's neck is your dominate thought? I work hard on getting rid of the thought and one of the most effective tools is called forgiveness. Along with the thought I try to visualize a "Ceremony Of Forgiveness" fatted calf and the whole works. I find when this is really done with gusto I feel better, and certainly the penalty for forgiving someone is far less severe than for the wringing of a neck!!

A man asked me what I thought was the greatest act a Christian could commit. This is a good question in that the Bible deals with a number of acts that are Christlike and often sacrificial in nature. Dying for a friend is one such act. Publicly accepting a sinning friend is another as in the account of Christ sending words of comfort to Peter after Peter had publicly denied Him in Pilate's Judgment Hall.

When you put all of the acts commended and or practiced by Christ into a composite, you come up with one Christ encouraged act, one word that takes volumes to adequately define and that is the word, FORGIVENESS. Forgiveness is easy to say, simple in the spelling, but so tough in the doing.

To forgive is first of all an act of obedience for Jesus plainly and emphatically commanded those who follow Him to forgive and that failure to forgive others, others who sin against you personally is to be in mental and emotional rebellion against His teaching for spiritual health.

Forgiveness is an act of love. I understand this act must start in the head and then sink to the heart for full effectiveness, but the head knowledge of forgiving is well documented in scripture. To love is a choice and the choice to love in the biblical sense must be done and the expected feeling will follow. Once we make the choice that God demands, He then causes the feeling to follow obedience based on faith.

That it is easier to forgive a stranger than it is to forgive someone close to you is well known and observable on every hand. Why is this so? Simple: To forgive the unknown person who has done wrong to someone you do not know personally does not have the element of betrayal. To forgive someone who has betrayed you is the true forgiveness that moves you from abstract forgiveness into the arena of forgiving real flesh and blood.

One reason family members, husbands, wives, children have such a hard time forgiving serious trespasses is the deep sense of being betrayed. The same is true when a Christian gets involved in deep sin and comes to the light, confesses, forsakes and come home. Ha. What a surprise. The elder brother rules!! Mature Christians are big enough not to fall prey to the practice of refusing to forgive. Charles Colson wrote and I agree:

"Nothing is more Christian than forgiveness, demonstrating trust in one who has fallen."

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit

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