“Do not judge,
and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn,
and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven”
Luke 6:37
This week is my
wife’s birthday.
How happy do you
suppose she would be if I gave her a gift card to her favorite restaurant?
Before you
answer, what if I attached some conditions to the gift?
Suppose I told
her she could only use it if she included me and only if she ordered from the
appetizer menu only so that we could stretch the use to more than one visit?
Suppose my
schedule was so busy that it severely limited her options to redeem it.
Do you think the
value of my ‘gift’ would be diminished?
Sure it would.
I gave it to her
with all kinds of strings attached.
That’s what
often happens with forgiveness too.
We extend it to
someone who has offended us but we add caveats.
I’ll forgive you
if…
I’ll forgive you
when…
I’ll forgive you
but…
Our conditions
move it from forgiveness, as taught in the Bible, to negotiating a settlement.
Obviously they
are not the same.
Forgiveness is
not conditional!
We like to sound
‘spiritual’ and ‘mature’ with the “I forgive you” part but reveal our carnality
and immaturity by adding conditions.
Again, looking
to Jesus – He said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
He added no conditions
to His request to the Father.
He expressed a
recognition of what made them do what they did but He did not seek any ill will
or judgment on them for their actions toward Him.
He did not say: “Father forgive them if
they repent!”
He did not say: “Father
forgive them when they see the error of their ways!”
He did not say: “Father
forgive them but hold their children accountable!”
There will be
little time passing between your reading of this blog and the opportunity to
forgive someone.
That’s just ‘life’.
When you do,
will you extend forgiveness without conditions or will you hold on to
unforgiveness until you determine the offending party has “Paid in Full”?
Remember though,
Jesus ‘paid in full’ the debt of your sin on the cross long before you ever
even acknowledged it!
Forgive as you
have been forgiven!
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