Monday, April 10, 2006

Forgiveness is greater than justice

I believe that - I think as Christians we have to believe that. This is our daily experience. Christ unjustly bore all my sins - He was without sin, and took mine! And then, He offers forgiveness to me - Everyday, as I confess my sins, I scream "forgiveness is better than justice!" - But when it comes to me and my friends, me and the people who hurt me - I want justice. I want them to admit they are wrong, to change their behavior and get what they deserve - I don't want to offer forgiveness.
I am so selfish- I want to feel like me and my feelings are the most important. I don't want to admit that forgiveness is better, because justice (in this area) is in my court - I would win. But when it is obvious that I would lose, I want forgiveness. What a hypocrite!
I want to pick forgiveness, but to do that requires love, it requires me to think of her as more important than me, it requires that I think of her sin as forgiven by Jesus, that He bore all the pain, weight and condemnation of that act. No matter how painful, no matter how much I am gasping for air...Jesus says that she is His, that she is my sister, that her sin is paid for and that she now bears no condemnation, that we, together, have peace with God - and that this is a chance for me to declare that I am stranger on this earth, that I don't see things as only here on earth, that I am not waiting for people to think of me as the best, to agree with me, to treat me well - (I am here to identify with my Savior who was treated HORRIBLY, by the way, out of His love for the Father, His love for the glory of God and somehow for His love for me!) My act of forgiveness shows that I am eagerly awaiting the Savior who will put all things in subjection under His feet and will transform me to my spiritual body because I will be as He is! Forgiveness shows that I am not looking for acceptance here, but I am looking for the Kingdom, that I am living in the reality of redemption right now, That I am living out "on earth as it is in heaven"
So, why is it still so hard for me to do it ?

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