13/9/26
From our heart
I want to begin today with the Lord’s prayer and, in particular, that line that we not only prattle off, but which we heartily pray…
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
You see the three-way link between… today’s parable, the forgiveness which we ask from God and the forgiveness that we should always offer our brothers and sisters:
Together these three things make up something beautiful. Forgiveness, especially God’s forgiveness, is the symbol of his “overflowing” love for each and every one of us. If he did not love us, he would not forgive us. Simple and as hard and marvellous as that.
Jesus’ love for us is a gigantic gamble because it is the generous love that leaves us free to distance ourselves, like the prodigal son.
It is also an endlessly patient love, like the Father in the prodigal son story who waits for our return every day. The dad who sits on his rocker on the veranda, squinting down the driveway as the sun sets on another day… just waiting and choosing to do the same thing for as long as it takes. And it matters not if it is one day or one month or one decade; it will not stop Him from waiting for us. From eternity's perspective, time is irrelevant.
And his love is resourceful and ingenious. Whatever it takes, whatever quirk or wrinkle in time and fate, it is the lost ‘us’, no matter how mucky we are; we are always worth it. We are of infinite value. More precious than anything else. He is the shepherd who never gives up and rejoices when the sheep is returned and forgiven. In his tenderness, He welcomes each and every sinner who knocks at his door. The Heavenly Father — our Father — is filled is full of love, and he wants to offer it to us, but he cannot do so if we close our hearts to love towards him and towards others, and this is the challenging bit because our fellow human beings are often painful to love.
If we close our hearts to others, we close our hearts to the possibility of love and forgiveness, and thus we close our hearts to God, and it is a certain end. The reverse is also true. Opening our hearts to others makes us vulnerable and is a risky thing. And opening our hearts to God is the beginning of everything.
And this is a conscious, deliberate, daily choice. Not a one-off moment of goodness and gooeyness, but in every encounter and every opportunity we can show forth forgiveness to others, and so we can show them what God is like. It will not be easy, but it is necessary, and the more often we choose, and the longer we choose, the easier it will be. Slowly, over decades, we need to make that decision not to condemn others in our narrow prison walls of prejudice and misconception. On those occasions, we imprison not only them but we lock up ourselves, for we are unable to see over the high wall of intolerance to the bright potential and the promise that the other has to offer to us.
Some other things to think about
- First
Often we think that old so and so has got it so hideously wrong, and if only they would come to us and own up, then we would graciously offer forgiveness and we could all go forward together and how wonderful and gooey it would all be. Now wouldn’t that be just ticketyboo.
But perhaps it is us that needs to walk up the long dusty driveway to our friends and/or our
father's house bedraggled and grubby and make the first move. Maybe it is us who needs to pull up our socks and big-person pants and arrive on the doorstep with some flowers, a card, a beverage and say
‘I’m listening’.
- Secondly
To remain imprisoned in the walls of self-righteous entitlement is to be very isolating and sad for ourselves and for others. No one wins, growth is stunted, and potential goes unfulfilled. It’s time to break out and begin a new life. A fresh life of forgiveness from the heart.
- Thirdly
What is even harder still are times when we need to forgive ourselves from our heart. The moving on part. Sinning is easy, so terrifyingly easy. Saying sorry is painful and difficult. Moving on, leaving the pooh in the past and not looking back, is the most difficult thing of all. The Master has made the first move because he has forgiven you from His heart. He asks you to look forward and to walk, maybe stumble, maybe totter towards Him. Do we dare take those first tentative steps? Do we risk doing the same for ourselves and for others from our heart, not just from our lips but in our actions? And I wonder what that might feel like and I wonder what that would look like in our daily life.
Let us try to show each other … from our heart.