The Forgiveness Factor

In SHOAH, Claude Lanzmann’s documentary on the Holocaust, a leader of the Warsaw ghetto uprising speaks of the bitterness that remains in his soul over how he and his neighbors were treated by the Nazis. “If you could lick my heart,” he says, “it would poison you.” One can easily understand how he felt, and how difficult it is to forgive a crime so great when the sins committed were of such a heinous, horrific nature. But let us look at the cost of such bitterness.

In order to put forgiveness into perspective, we would do well to consider the logic of unforgiveness, to which Bosnia provides a most graphic example. The wholesale slaughter of people in Bosnia and Rwanda is a bloody reminder of poisonous hearts, the fearsome result of unstoppable human vengeance. The ongoing cycle of repaying vengeance with vengeance undoubtedly contributed to the twentieth century being the bloodiest century the world has ever seen.

Indeed, forgiveness is costly but unforgiveness may be costlier. I believe that ultimate forgiveness is seen best in the cross of Jesus Christ. In the cross of Christ I see the greatest price paid for one’s forgiveness but also the greatest good gained in rebuilding one’s own life. The cross of Christ does not minimize evil or gloss over reality; rather, it shows evil at its ugliest, even while offering a new beginning in the most profound sense of the term. But the grace of forgiveness, because God Himself has paid the price for our sinful hearts, is a Christian distinctive and stands splendidly over and against our hate-filled, unforgiving, poisoned world. God’s forgiveness gives us a fresh start.

May I close with a poem? Hear the beautiful words of an elementary school teacher:

He came to my desk with a quivering lip,
the lesson was done.
“Have you a new sheet for me, dear teacher?
I’ve spoiled this one.”
I took his sheet, all soiled and blotted
and gave him a new one all unspotted.
And into his tired heart I cried,
“Do better now, my child.”

I went came to the throne with a trembling heart;
the day was done.
“Have you a new day for me, dear Master?
I’ve spoiled this one.”
He took my day, all soiled and blotted
and gave me a new one all unspotted.
And into my tired heart he cried,
“Do better now, my child.” [1]

Are you in need of forgiveness? The Cross is for you. God offers you a new sheet today. Will you receive it?

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1. Anonymous, “A New Leaf,” James G. Lawson, compiler, The Best Loved Religious Poems (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1961). Used by
permission.

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Copyright © 2002 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. “A Slice of Infinity” is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.