I realize that I can often give a rather unbalanced view of God on this site. I often portray the holiness of God and his expectations of us much more than I talk about his grace and mercy. This is largely reactionary. What I see in the culture around me is an unbalanced perspective on the side of God’s love and forgiveness. However, my reactionary unbalance can be just as harmful as the other extreme. In my life I cherish the mercy and grace of my father. Without his forgiveness I have nothing. I am constantly amazed when I come into the presence and God and commune with him. I am amazed when he blesses me, rather than destroying me. Based on the things that I have done against him, he has every right to condemn me, but shockingly I find forgiveness.

I would like to discuss two stories in the gospels that illustrate some important points about Christ’s forgiveness. The first is in John 8:3-11:

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?’ This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’”

This is a pretty powerful story, and I can identify with the woman in the passage. Just like her, I have been caught in adultery by Christ. Because we, as the Church, are the bride of Christ, whenever we give ourselves to loving something other than him, we commit adultery against him. All sin is this way; at some level all sin is idolatry. We have betrayed him and served ourselves. By all rights, we should be killed. By the law which God established, anyone who sins must die. However, the kind of king that we serve is such that he dies himself in our place.

Now, there is one aspect of the story where I can’t really identify with this woman. In my case, no one was throwing stones. Most of my life I’ve been a ‘good kid’. I have gotten away with being acceptable to the society and fitting in all my life. I think this is very similar to the people standing around the woman ready to throw those stones. They clearly had dirt inside, otherwise they would not have left. However, they were self-righteous enough and acceptable enough to everyone else to drag a naked woman through the streets shouting ‘whore.’ Let’s be careful when no one is throwing stones at us. The world hated Him, how does it get along so well with us?

Now there is one last part to this story that always stands out in my mind. Jesus tells the woman, “neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” It is important that he does not simply accept her, he also tells her to change her lifestyle. Jesus forgives the woman, but he does not condone more sin. If such a perfect lover has forgiven us, let us forsake all that might offend him and abandon ourselves to his control. How can we continue with our other loves when he has taken us back, ready to care for us?

The second story comes from Luke 7:36-50:

“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.’ And Jesus answering said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ And he answered, ‘Say it, Teacher.’

‘A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered, ‘The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.’ And he said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ And he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this, who even forgives sins?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’”

This is a very touching story, and there is a much that can be learned from all the details. However, the primary point that I would like to draw out of this story is the part where Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” This is an important concept that is echoed in other parables throughout the gospels. The idea that we love because he first loved us. I do not think that Jesus is setting up a ‘cost of forgiveness’ principle here. In other words, I don’t think he is saying that we must first love a lot before we can be forgiven from all our sins. Quite the other way around, he is declaring that when people are forgiven all their sins, their natural response is to pour that kind of love into other people.

I am always amazed by Christians who harbor bitterness or some sort of grudge. It is as if they do not understand what they have done to Christ. When I look back at times in my life when I was angry with someone, I realize in hindsight that I did not really know how deeply I had hurt Christ myself. I have always had an intellectual understanding of it all. I have always known that unless I ask Jesus into my heart in a little paragraph prayer in the back of my Bible, I will go to hell because I, and everyone else, have done bad things. However, it is something totally different to come to the heartfelt realization that you have betrayed him who loves you most.

There is much more that I could say about forgiveness, because it is something I need to ask for a lot. However, this post is long as it is. I pray that you are able to walk in the forgiveness that he has given you and devote yourself totally to him.