February 24, 2019 Text: Luke 6:27-38
Dear Friends in Christ,
A man was informed by his doctor that he had rabies. The man had waited so long to go to the doctor that nothing could be done about his condition. After telling him the sad news, the doctor left. Later, he came back to check on the man. Instead of finding him upset, the patient was writing on a piece of paper. “Are you writing a will?” the doctor asked. “No,” said the man, “I’m making a list of all the people I am going to bite!”
Oh how we love to live for revenge, armed with ammunition, ready and equipped to pay back those who have hurt us. Jesus knew about this sinful nature in all of us, this spiteful bitterness that builds up so easily. That is why He went to great lengths to give us a better way to live. Don’t live for revenge . . .
“LIVE TO FORGIVE”
That is the sum of the message Jesus shares in Gospel reading from Luke. Listen again to our Savior’s words: “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” (v. 27-31)
Now, this type of forgiveness is easier said than done, isn’t it? It is not easy to forgive someone who has hurt you, or embarrassed you or caused you pain. Forgiving then can be one of the hardest things in life to do. Our nature is to strike back or make them pay or stop loving them or cut off all communication. We can’t just let them off the hook, can we?
Sin is never free. There is always a price. The price has been paid. It was not paid with gold or silver but with the precious and innocent blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross.
The price for all the sins that will ever be committed against you was paid that day when God’s own Son gave up His life at Calvary. That same day the price was paid for all the sins you commit against others. There is a price for sin. We don’t pay it. Jesus Christ, God himself, paid the ultimate price with His life. Is it right for us to try to make others pay for their sins, when God doesn’t make us pay the price for ours?
Jesus didn’t live for revenge. When He rose from the grave He didn’t go off in some Stallone-Schwarzenegger rage to track down those who wronged Him. We may love that in our hearts and minds, but that is not God’s way. He lives to forgive and He enables us to live that kind of life also.
Jesus says in verse 36, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” Alex lives in Columbia. One day he was on his way to work at a banana plantation when armed guerrillas boarded his bus, ordered everyone off and shot them. In the shooting, Alex lost an eye. He later joined a prison ministry where he ran into Ismael, the very man who shot him years before. Through his sharing of the Gospel in the prison, Ismael came to the Christian faith.
Alex is now on his way to law school to help those improperly imprisoned. Thanks to the peace process in Columbia, many former guerrillas, including Ismael, were pardoned and released from prison. Ismael needed a place to live, so Alex asked him to move into his place. The former guerrilla and his victim are now roommates.
Alex, through the work of Christ on his heart, was able to let go of the grudge against the man who had wronged him. He was following the Lord’s plan and there is another Christian believer on earth. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Rom. 5:8-10)
Live to forgive. Live to love others. When we share the forgiveness God has given us, it will have an effect in the lives of those we forgive. We may not see the effect right away. We may never see it. But when we share the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, we can rest in His promise that He will touch the lives of those we forgive, just as He has touched our lives through the forgiveness He’s given us.
There it is. God’s plan for your life. Live to forgive. That is the kind of life God lives. And that’s the life He empowers you to live also. Live to forgive . . through Jesus Christ.
Amen.