The first time I remember the subject of forgiveness coming up for serious consideration in my life was some years ago, one night while my mother was at prayer meeting and my father and I were home together, watching the news on TV, occasionally commenting on the things that they were saying.
My father was a Christian: a follower of the Christ. He strove in every way to be as much like Him as he could be. It is my familial conceit that he did not miss the mark by far.
Charles Manson had just been sentenced and Walter Cronkite was recapping the crimes that evil man had done.
My father turned to me, an indication that he truly meant the thing he was about to say, and said, "William, I have never hated any man. I had hoped I never would. I do not like to say it but I hate that Charles Manson." He then got up and went into the bedroom, I am convinced, to pray.
The word "forgiveness" was not uttered. It is only now, as an old man, that I understand the word hung in the air above our heads that night and it was, in part, the burning of that bright word that so troubled my so suffering father.
The incident was not mentioned for many years. When it was, I was a grown man, my father was old, and all he said was, "William, I've forgiven Charles Manson."
I am now in the Huddle House, writing this and having coffee. I had no real understanding until I typed the words that you just read and realized that tears were flowing down my face. I am SO glad he got that done.
My friends, we have all recited The Lord's Prayer many times I'm sure. Recited it perhaps until the words have lost their meaning.
Luke 11:1: And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
2: And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
3: Give us day by day our daily bread.
4: And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
"... forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us."
And then there's this:
Mark 11:26: But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
I don't know who may be reading this. I'm sorry but I know that you're a sinner. Maybe a little bitty one, or maybe a great big one, even so big as me – although you can trust me when I say that is unlikely.
I do know this: God sent His Son to suffer, horribly, and die a terrible death to pay for my forgiveness. And that forgiveness sits there, waiting for me to need it. There is more of it than I will ever use. And it is absolutely free.
If you will confess your sins to Him, He will forgive them, instantly, no questions, no lectures, no switches or belts. Just forgiveness, freely given.
So far as I can tell, I have forgiven all who have offended me. I shall, as best I can, continue.
Now, one last thing: Please, realize this: If I am offended, and do not forgive, I have within my soul a cancer, eating, growing, consuming and impeding every effort that I make in life.
Is there someone in your life you love? And there is unforgiveness in your heart for someone else? Your love, my friend, is tainted. The love you give has, hidden in it, those cancerous cells you carry.
Purge them.
Please.
P.S. I wrote this, then sat it aside so that I could come back and edit it objectively. During the passage of time I saw a news report on TV. It spoke of the President speaking well of Michael Vick.
It made me search my soul.
As my father hated Manson I hate Vick.
I shall publish this, go home and, in a private place, I'll pray. I'll pray until I can forgive that hateful man. I won't forget. I'll watch him like a hawk lest he offend again. But, in the meantime, I shall forgive him and shall do as I am so clearly commanded: I shall love him, whatever effort it shall cost me.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
On Forgiveness
On the nature of sin
The nature of sin is much like the nature of a coral snake.
The coral snake does not have fangs – he has ordinary teeth. BUT – his saliva contains one of the most potent neural toxins in nature. The way it works is remarkable. The snake selects his prey – generally a small animal that is asleep or completely relaxed. He approaches his prey, gently parts its fur and then coats a small area of skin with a layer of saliva. This is done so gently that the prey is completely unaware of what is going on. The toxin is so powerful that it immediately deadens the area that it touches.
Once the area is anesthetized, the snake begins to nibble – not to eat but rather to introduce its toxin into the prey's blood stream. Soon the prey falls into a coma and, shortly, dies.
And that's the way sin works.
It sneaks up on us when we don't expect it. Then, instead of a roar and a violent attack, it simply gives us the slightest little lick. And, with each lick, our defenses are increasingly anesthetized.
Then it begins to nibble, then nip, then bite, then chew. And each of these introduces more of the toxin into our system.
And finally we're overwhelmed.
Then sin can do its work.
It rolls us into a convenient posture, unhinges its serpent jaws and takes us in its serpent mouth – and then it starts to swallow. And soon we're swallowed up. And then sin has its way. Off to a sunny spot where it can leisurely digest us, smacking its serpent lips and smiling a subtle serpent smile.
First it digests the skin, and then the flesh and then….. it gets down to the most delicious, the most delectable, part: the immortal soul within.
When that is gone its over.
So what can we do?
Know that it's there. Know that it's everywhere. And keep a constant watch for that tiny little touch, that almost pleasant little tickle. And, when we feel it – spin around and grab it, pop it like a whip, fling it to the ground and crush it underneath our heel.
And, while we're watching for it, get a vaccination: an inoculation, an anti-venom so potent as to render the poison of sin completely and eternally ineffective.
How? Through the power and the grace of Jesus, the Christ. He will stop it in its tracks, repair the damage it has done and then will introduce into your spirit a presence called the Holy Ghost. And He, the Holy Ghost, will take up residence inside you, watch out for sin and nip it in the bud.
And how do you accomplish this? It's simple. Just ask a Christian, he'll help you – he has to, he has no choice in the matter, the Holy Ghost within him will not let him do otherwise. But do be careful… don't be fooled… if he talks the talk and doesn't walk the walk just keep looking till you find someone who does both.
And lastly, how do you know whether he walks the walk? How do you know that he's a Christian?
Easiest thing in the world. A Christian has to do what Jesus tells him to and Jesus told us to love our neighbors.
Watch to see what your guy does. How does he treat his waitress? The people who work for him? The bum on the street? Everyone less fortunate than him?
You can tell what kind of tree it is by looking at its fruit.
Twisting The Scriptures Till They Squeak
The way good Christians can twist the scriptures to make them say whatever they choose amazes me. I'm talking about ordinary folk, but I'm also talking about a LOT of preachers, even the big guns on TV.
This twisting is usually done in an attempt to justify a position which cannot be justified.
Here is an example. The person who argued this is a good man. He, I am convinced, believes that he is right and his position is reflected and approved by the vast majority. I am equally convinced that he is wrong.
We were talking and I brought up Jesus' clearly stated instructions:
" Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whoso ever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate yo u, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
Clearly stated. No question in my mind. Straight from Jesus.
My friend proposes to get his gun and shoot the bad guy who has come to rob him. Period. Shoot him down like a dog.
Okay, I might do the same. I'm human and I make mistakes. I have schooled myself for years to do exactly what he prescribes. Clearly, though, we would both be in error. We would be intentionally ignoring a specific command, delivered to us from the mouth of Jesus.
No room for confusion. He makes it VERY clear. Hard to do but easy to understand.
My friend, being a good Baptist, found himself needing a justification for ignoring Jesus and doing what he himself would prefer. So he turned to the scriptures.
"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."
This, to him, justifies his bloody intent. One line in the middle of a parable, the point of which is that we do not know the hour when our Lord (the Prince of Peace) will come.
Now he asks that we set aside the clear and simply stated commands of our Lord and Savior and he justifies that with this line from this parable.
Dear friend, Jesus was very clear in His intent. We are to love our neighbors. And further than that, we are to love our enemies. Shooting them is not an act of love.
Did He, in His parable, say that the goodman should harm the thief? No. He simply says that the goodman would not suffer his house to be broken up. Well, one might well think that, had the goodman known the thief's plan, he would have been awake, with the lights and TV on. In most cases, I would think that would be action enough. I would think that most (not all, but most) thieves would go elsewhere on seeing that they would have to face the goodman of the house.
Again, he did NOT say that the goodman should harm the thief.
So, what should the goodman do? Well, I feel like he should call the law. Call the law, let them handle the matter and then make it his business to love the thief. Perhaps he might even go to visit him and to show him, by word and deed, the error of his ways. Perhaps he ought to try to find a way to help.
Now, understand, I am NOT taking my friend to task. I am using his reaction to point out the lengths to which we go to fool ourselves.
I am a man schooled in violence. And I am a man who has practiced it for many years. I'm good at it – and I enjoy it. But I am now a disciple of the Christ and He wants me to go another way. He wants for me to put my trust in Him. I pray that He will help me to be the man He wants for me to be.
And I will take His simple words the way they are rather than trying to make them the way my evil nature would prefer for them to be.
This twisting is usually done in an attempt to justify a position which cannot be justified.
Here is an example. The person who argued this is a good man. He, I am convinced, believes that he is right and his position is reflected and approved by the vast majority. I am equally convinced that he is wrong.
We were talking and I brought up Jesus' clearly stated instructions:
" Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whoso ever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate yo u, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
Clearly stated. No question in my mind. Straight from Jesus.
My friend proposes to get his gun and shoot the bad guy who has come to rob him. Period. Shoot him down like a dog.
Okay, I might do the same. I'm human and I make mistakes. I have schooled myself for years to do exactly what he prescribes. Clearly, though, we would both be in error. We would be intentionally ignoring a specific command, delivered to us from the mouth of Jesus.
No room for confusion. He makes it VERY clear. Hard to do but easy to understand.
My friend, being a good Baptist, found himself needing a justification for ignoring Jesus and doing what he himself would prefer. So he turned to the scriptures.
"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."
This, to him, justifies his bloody intent. One line in the middle of a parable, the point of which is that we do not know the hour when our Lord (the Prince of Peace) will come.
Now he asks that we set aside the clear and simply stated commands of our Lord and Savior and he justifies that with this line from this parable.
Dear friend, Jesus was very clear in His intent. We are to love our neighbors. And further than that, we are to love our enemies. Shooting them is not an act of love.
Did He, in His parable, say that the goodman should harm the thief? No. He simply says that the goodman would not suffer his house to be broken up. Well, one might well think that, had the goodman known the thief's plan, he would have been awake, with the lights and TV on. In most cases, I would think that would be action enough. I would think that most (not all, but most) thieves would go elsewhere on seeing that they would have to face the goodman of the house.
Again, he did NOT say that the goodman should harm the thief.
So, what should the goodman do? Well, I feel like he should call the law. Call the law, let them handle the matter and then make it his business to love the thief. Perhaps he might even go to visit him and to show him, by word and deed, the error of his ways. Perhaps he ought to try to find a way to help.
Now, understand, I am NOT taking my friend to task. I am using his reaction to point out the lengths to which we go to fool ourselves.
I am a man schooled in violence. And I am a man who has practiced it for many years. I'm good at it – and I enjoy it. But I am now a disciple of the Christ and He wants me to go another way. He wants for me to put my trust in Him. I pray that He will help me to be the man He wants for me to be.
And I will take His simple words the way they are rather than trying to make them the way my evil nature would prefer for them to be.
Herein Lies Heresy
This may predictably bring me no end of opprobrium as a blaspheming heretic. So be it. I shall simply speak the truth.
There is, and has been, a great deal of concern about people trying to ban the "Ten Commandments" from governmental places. This concern seems to be a purely Christian thing. It seems that they, the Christians, have adopted these commandments as basic to their faith.
Are you ready? Here comes the most awful heresy.
The Ten Commandments have nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity.
The commandments were dictated by God to Moses as the most basic rules of conduct for the Jews. This happened a few thousand years before the birth of the Christ.
When you become a Christian, a follower of the Christ, a believer that Jesus is the actual son of God, the ballgame changes.
Herewith the words of Jesus as reported in the Book of Matthew, the twenty-second chapter, beginning with the thirty-sixth verse:
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
That's it. That is the law. The new law.
It applies to both Jew and Gentile. It applies equally to all mankind.
Now, if you will take the Ten Commandments and study them, you should quickly discover that most of them are encompassed within the above.
There are now only two – but they cover so very, very much ground.
If you love God with all your heart, your soul and mind, will you then chase after other gods or golden calves or mighty statues?
If you love your neighbor, will you steal from him, or kill him? Will you covet that which is his, causing you to be jealous and switch from love to hate?
Jesus was a Jew. He was, in fact, a Rabbi: an interpreter and teacher of the law. He came to save the Jews and to bring them this new law. Some of them, a relatively small number, followed him, becoming thereby the first Christians. From them grew all the Christian churches.
After Jesus was gone God recruited Paul to take the story of Jesus, and the salvation therein, along with this new law, to the Gentiles.
This is the law we Christians serve. That we love God and love our neighbors.
So why am I making a big deal of this?
Well, a lot of Christians have never thought about it. They do not give this love its proper place in their lives.
Whenever someone sues to take the Ten Commandments out of a building, there is an uproar. And when there is an uproar, love falls by the wayside. Things are said and done that are great violations. And worse, a terrible example.
The next time it happens, think on the current law in your reaction and response. Think on that and think of this: God created everything that has ever been created. If he wants the Ten Commandments to be in a place – they will be there.
Your job is to rescue souls from eternal damnation. Being in the street with rage on your face, shaking your fist and screaming hateful things may not be the best way to accomplish that.
There is, and has been, a great deal of concern about people trying to ban the "Ten Commandments" from governmental places. This concern seems to be a purely Christian thing. It seems that they, the Christians, have adopted these commandments as basic to their faith.
Are you ready? Here comes the most awful heresy.
The Ten Commandments have nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity.
The commandments were dictated by God to Moses as the most basic rules of conduct for the Jews. This happened a few thousand years before the birth of the Christ.
When you become a Christian, a follower of the Christ, a believer that Jesus is the actual son of God, the ballgame changes.
Herewith the words of Jesus as reported in the Book of Matthew, the twenty-second chapter, beginning with the thirty-sixth verse:
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
That's it. That is the law. The new law.
It applies to both Jew and Gentile. It applies equally to all mankind.
Now, if you will take the Ten Commandments and study them, you should quickly discover that most of them are encompassed within the above.
There are now only two – but they cover so very, very much ground.
If you love God with all your heart, your soul and mind, will you then chase after other gods or golden calves or mighty statues?
If you love your neighbor, will you steal from him, or kill him? Will you covet that which is his, causing you to be jealous and switch from love to hate?
Jesus was a Jew. He was, in fact, a Rabbi: an interpreter and teacher of the law. He came to save the Jews and to bring them this new law. Some of them, a relatively small number, followed him, becoming thereby the first Christians. From them grew all the Christian churches.
After Jesus was gone God recruited Paul to take the story of Jesus, and the salvation therein, along with this new law, to the Gentiles.
This is the law we Christians serve. That we love God and love our neighbors.
So why am I making a big deal of this?
Well, a lot of Christians have never thought about it. They do not give this love its proper place in their lives.
Whenever someone sues to take the Ten Commandments out of a building, there is an uproar. And when there is an uproar, love falls by the wayside. Things are said and done that are great violations. And worse, a terrible example.
The next time it happens, think on the current law in your reaction and response. Think on that and think of this: God created everything that has ever been created. If he wants the Ten Commandments to be in a place – they will be there.
Your job is to rescue souls from eternal damnation. Being in the street with rage on your face, shaking your fist and screaming hateful things may not be the best way to accomplish that.
On God and Man
I am convinced that, in the near future, a lot of people who advertise themselves as Christians will wake up dead and gone to hell.
The basic requirement to avoid this fate is a belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. There is, though, a difference between saying it and believing it, A BIG difference.
Here's how you can tell one from the other. The true believer will do the things that Jesus said we ought to do. And yes, he or she will screw up sometimes - but he will be trying and you will be able to see that if you want to look.
Now, all that being said, let's address something that is a particular thorn in my side: the tendency for so-called Christians to refuse the truth Of God's wisdom and power and to refuse to trust that He can manage His affairs.
When Jesus left us here, He left specific instructions.
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature
Luke 24:46: And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
My friends, God had the power to create the universe. He had the power to create time. He made you. And you don't think He can manage His own affairs? If He wants prayer in schools, there will be prayer in schools. If He wants His commandments in the courthouse, they will be there. And on and on.
Just do your job, okay? Preach the gospel. He did NOT tell you to demonstrate. He did not command you to "civil disobedience." In fact, He told you to obey man's law.
Trust Him. He developed a plan, wrote it down and gave it to us. It describes the things that are happening even as you read these words. Those things are a part of His plan.
Who are you to try to defeat His plan? Who are you to try to delay it?
TRUST HIM.
We have not the capacity to understand what He's about - just trust Him and do exactly what He told you to do.
The basic requirement to avoid this fate is a belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. There is, though, a difference between saying it and believing it, A BIG difference.
Here's how you can tell one from the other. The true believer will do the things that Jesus said we ought to do. And yes, he or she will screw up sometimes - but he will be trying and you will be able to see that if you want to look.
Now, all that being said, let's address something that is a particular thorn in my side: the tendency for so-called Christians to refuse the truth Of God's wisdom and power and to refuse to trust that He can manage His affairs.
When Jesus left us here, He left specific instructions.
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature
Luke 24:46: And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
My friends, God had the power to create the universe. He had the power to create time. He made you. And you don't think He can manage His own affairs? If He wants prayer in schools, there will be prayer in schools. If He wants His commandments in the courthouse, they will be there. And on and on.
Just do your job, okay? Preach the gospel. He did NOT tell you to demonstrate. He did not command you to "civil disobedience." In fact, He told you to obey man's law.
Trust Him. He developed a plan, wrote it down and gave it to us. It describes the things that are happening even as you read these words. Those things are a part of His plan.
Who are you to try to defeat His plan? Who are you to try to delay it?
TRUST HIM.
We have not the capacity to understand what He's about - just trust Him and do exactly what He told you to do.
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