Freedom and forgiveness

Jesus tells a story in Matthew 18 about the “unforgiving servant.” A man approached the King, having owed him the modern equivalent of 12 million dollars. There was no way to pay the money back and the only payment option left at this point was to sell the man and his family into slavery and all of his possessions would be seized.

The man begged for mercy and the king forgave his debt in its entirety. Then, out of the lunacy that only we humans can possess, this forgiven man went out and shook some guy down demanding the twenty he had loaned him last week – even imprisoning him until this little debt could be paid.

The king heard of this injustice and had the unforgiving man turned him over to the ‘tormentors.’

Put yourself into the story. God forgave your sin. There was no way the debt could be repaid by you. He forgave you, paying the debt out of his own pocket with his life. What an insult if you fail to forgive! If you never let go of that incident 30 years ago or the one that happened just yesterday, you mock the very gift you were given.

We all hold on to things in our past — They could be as damaging as child abuse, a cheating spouse, a manipulative boss or a wayward child. But there are many other things we still grip — like the slicing affect of a casual unintentional remark? You replay it in your mind, add hidden meanings and create an instant grudge.

We must forgive or we will face the tormenting spirit of God — knocking on our minds eye with every vision, drowning our brain in convictions, and passionately pleading with us to make things right. Eventually, if we do not turn, we move to a stoic silence and then to a stifling anger.

Some reading this are facing the torments of an unforgiving spirit. So many live their whole lives “mad at the world.” How many senior citizens spend their golden years pining away because of bitterness.Why is it so difficult to say “I’m Sorry” and sometimes even more difficult to say “I Forgive You.” ?

When I read about the parents of the Amish girls who were gunned down in a one room schoolhouse in the Fall of 2006, I am overwhelmed. The families rushed over to the gunman’s home, to minister to his family. That’s forgiveness. That’s grace.

And just last month, the story came out about the wife of a missionary who was killed in Turkey. The man was tortured, along with two others who worked at a Christian publishing house by, and finally all three throats were slit. On live news, the wife expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” she said. In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, this is shocking.
One commentator said this, “She said in one sentence what 1000 missionaries in 1000 years could never do.”

Forgiveness frees the person who offended you. Forgiveness frees you from the torment of a heavy heart. And forgiveness frees the world to experience something that is so foreign to them — Grace and love and forgiveness that can only come from a Savior.

Red Letter Believers are quick to forgive because they show the world that what we have isn’t just talk — it’s about actions that spring from changed hearts.