Forgiveness is unnatural, but necessary. It must come from God.
I. Forgiveness is difficult.
A. Memories linger.
B. Forgiveness is UNNATURAL.
1) It is blantantly unfair.
C. Story of Joseph and his brothers. Genesis 42-45
1) Joseph swings from harshness to blubbering sorrow.
2) He finally forgives them.
a) The sounds of his grief and love mingle together.
II. Forgiveness is against all instincts.
A. Animals don’t forgive predators. (sharks and dolphins)
1) Dogs eat dogs.
2) Nations and economies operate on this principle.
3) Freud: “One must forgive one’s enemies, but not before
they’ve been hanged.”
B. Christianity is suffused with forgiveness.
1) Lord’s prayer.
2) Best-known saying of Jesus:”Forgive your enemies.”
a) Seems suicidal.
b) Hard enough to forgive rotten brothers.
III. Why forgiveness is so central to our faith.
A. It is the only way to break the cycle of blame – and pain –
in relationships.
1) “Karma” provides a more satisfying sense of fairness.
a) (6,800,000 incarnations are required.)
b) Example of marriage ruined by a bar of soap.
2) Forgiveness doesn’t settle all questions of blame.
a) It often evades those questions.
b) But it allows relationships to start over.
c) Only humans can forgive, and develop relationships that
transcend the law of nature.
3) Forgiveness is tit-for-tat.
a) Blame is this way, and so is forgiveness.
b) We would not want to get caught up in such a cycle with
God.
B. Loosening the stranglehold of guilt.
1) First official act of free parliament in East Germany was
to ask for forgiveness of Jews.
a) It did not bring any Jews back to life.
b) But it helped to loosen the stranglehold of guilt.
2) “Les Miserables.”
a) Double-edged – Valjean learns forgiveness, detective
does not.
3) Forgiveness transforms individuals, both forgivers and
forgiven.
a) Joseph’s tears were a sign of liberation.
b) Jesus led Peter through a ritual of forgiveness.Jn 21:15f
C. Bridging the gap.
1) Forgiveness puts both parties on the same side.
a) Through it we realize we are not that much different.
2) In Incarnation, God puts self on our side. Heb 4:15; 2 Co 5:21
a) Forgiveness is not easy for God, either.
b) Words from the cross: “They know not what they do.”
IV. Resolving the unfairness.
A. At its core, forgiveness remains unfair.
1) It is unjust to let dastardly deeds go unpunished.
B. In the final analysis, forgiveness is an act of faith. Rom 12:19
1) We trust that God is a better justice maker than us.
2) We defer to him.
C. Wrong does not disappear when we forgive.
1) But it loses its grip on us, and is taken over by God.
2) He knows what to do.