Jesus came to show that God forgives with no strings attached. Pure and simple forgiveness. No conditions. No retribution. No condemnation. (John 3:17) No vengeance. Just forgiveness. That’s today’s word: FORGIVENESS. This is essential to who Jesus was, to His message, and therefore, to the essence of God. And if forgiveness is the essence of God, then it should be the essence of His followers as well. So, this Advent, let’s recapture the spirit of forgiveness in our lives.
Many of us think of forgiveness as the message of the cross, and the cross is a powerful act of forgiveness. But forgiveness was also a part of who God was and who Jesus was before the cross as well. Look at how many times God forgave the Israelites in the Old Testament. (Nehemiah 9:17, Jonah 3:10) Look at how Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery. (John 8:1-11) And the paralyzed man. (Matthew 9:2) And the woman who anointed His feet. (Luke 7:36-49) Forgiveness was at the heart of Jesus’ message, and therefore at the heart of God.
Do we view God as a God of forgiveness or as a God retribution? Our view of God is so important. If we believe that God only wants to punish, and that retribution and revenge is what drives God, then we will be a people of judgment and retaliation. But if we believe God forgives and loves and accepts unconditionally, then we will live as loving and forgiving people. Our God is a God of forgiveness and redemption. “Our Father will redeem all that is redeemable, first for the one redeemed, then for himself out of love for the redeemed, then for the new community, out of love for all of us.” ~ Larry A. Smith
So, today, let’s see God as a God of forgiveness. And let’s practice forgiveness in ways that amaze a world that only sees justice as payback for wrongs done. Let’s practice the radical words of Jesus: “You must forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:22
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