Forgive as we are forgiven

In Bible study on Thursday there was a lot of discussion about our need to forgive other people who ask for our forgiveness. Every one of us there recognised how difficult that task of forgiveness can sometimes be. This evening our readings (Gen.50:15-21, 1 Cor.4:1-5) remind us again that we are called to forgive and accept people, but also that it is only God who can ultimately judge a person.

In effect we are being called to take people at face value….. It’s not easy – all of us I’m sure from time to time make up our minds about what we think of a person very quickly, and sometimes whatever they say at a later date will do very little to change our opinions ! So this calling to forgive is one that is never going to be easy to accept.

Many years ago in the Times there was a section titled, ‘What is wrong with the world today?’ The shortest reply came from G K Chesterton, who wrote, ‘Dear Sir, I am’. Now there are a lot of problems in the world, and a lot of people who we would think are very bad, but when we look at the Church and the world today, instead of looking at others, we must always do so with our own failings in mind.

God recognises that we get things wrong – we will fail at things, we will find it hard to forgive, we will lose our temper occasionally and so on, but he also recognises if we are really trying to be more like him, and being a Christian is not about being perfect, it is about trying to be Christlike.

Our natural instinct is to look at the faults of others or to just find fault with no explanation at all, but in these readings we are told to focus on ourselves as the major problem because that is something we can do something about ! And so we’re called to try and be like Jesus.

There is a story about a Prince who fell in love with a young lady in his kingdom, but he was afraid to go to her as the Prince. He thought that if he appeared with all of the symbols of majesty, she would be in awe, and left with no choice but to marry him, but he didn’t want her awe, he wanted her love. And so, he took off all of his Princely garments and put on the clothes of a peasant. He went to the market place where she worked and got to know her. He went to her as one of her kind, won her affection and only then revealed to her who he really was.

When Jesus came to live on earth amongst us, he may well have made his life easier had he given some definite sign to all that he was the Messiah, but he didn’t do that. Instead he stripped off all of the power and majesty of God, and became just like us, except he was a perfect example of what we should be… Being Christ like means to clothe ourselves in his personality, to receive from him the strength to go about doing his work; loving, showing compassion, healing the sick, and telling people that there is a better life for them when they know and feel the love of Jesus.

Jesus didn’t force himself on anyone. True love can never of course be forced. Jesus came to give, to serve, to accept poverty and betrayal, and even death – he came to offer a bridge of reconciliation to all who believe in him. And today we must be the people showing his qualities to the world. We must be the people concerned for those around us just in the way that Jesus was, and we must be the people who are prepared to give second chances, and third and fourth chances to people, because that is what God has done for each one of us.

But as I said earlier, forgiving isn’t easy, and by ourselves we often won’t have the strength, but with the strength and the power of God we can offer a forgiveness that will become a powerful witness to his love. And being Christ like means being powerful witnesses.

A preacher once spoke at an evangelistic rally and he said that he wished that one day there would be a service where the preacher would give the invitation to come out the front and accept Jesus as a Saviour, but then as the people approached, he shouts back, ‘Don’t come down the aisle – go to Jesus ! Don’t come to me ! Go to Jesus !

Upon that declaration those people will go out and see Jesus all around them – because Jesus is anyone that they can offer care and comfort to. And the preacher will carry on to the rest of the congregation, ‘And what are you doing there? Why don’t you go to Jesus too?’ And they too will leave the building to go out and do the work of Jesus.

Our faith is not built on the Church, it is built on Jesus – In him we can find the strength to go and do all kinds of things which, by ourselves, we would never do.

By ourselves the task of forgiveness, and the task of being Christ like in anything we do, is impossible, but God doesn’t ask us to cope by ourselves, and he doesn’t ask us to accomplish anything with our own strength. Instead, he gives us his strength to go out and do something for the good and the glory of Christ in the world. Our contribution may be small, but with God on our side, it will make a difference. We are his servants… he is our strength. AMEN