We Have Permission to Forgive

Considering the conflict we are seeing in the world around us, and discerning how best to respond as Christians, I invite you to revisit these words I shared with you last week about the permission to forgive.

Have you ever thought of Christ’s death on the cross as giving us permission to forgive our enemies. Consider this: Christ’s command to forgive our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us would be irrational, considering that at the same time He calls us to love God with our whole heart. I say “irrational” because surely God is great (Allahu Akbar) and perfectly just (Eloihim Tov). So how can I love God with my whole heart while also forgiving someone who has offended His creation? How can I offer friendship to an enemy while still remaining a friend to God? Do you see how that would be a problem?

That’s what I mean when I say that Christ’s death on the cross gives us permission to forgive sin without offending God. Christ paid the price for all of humanity’s sins. And not just “humanity’s” sins, but mine, and yours, and our enemy’s. He died for the people taken hostage by Hamas. He died for those suffering under the retaliatory attacks of the Israeli military. And He died for the Roman soldiers who drove the nails into His own hands. He died for them all, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” It is His death that gives us permission to forgive others without offending God. +