In the Shadow of the Cross

August 2004 -- Back to current issue and main Archives

Forgiveness. This is a topic that is difficult to put into practice. Webster’s defines forgiveness as; “to pardon, remission, disposition of pardon, to overlook a trespass”

The Lord has provided us the wonderful gift of forgiveness, in other words He has offered forgiveness to any of us who wish to be forgiven. What do we need forgiveness from? For our sins! “Out of the depths I cry to you. O Lord; O Lord hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, O Lord, kept a record of my sins, O Lord, you could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.” Psalm 130: 1-4 (NIV)
The Psalmist said it perfectly, in sin we cry for mercy.

As Christians we are forgiven. The is one way in which Christians are distinguished from non-believers. Forgiven? Yes. Perfect? No. Above conviction? No. As Christians we realize that our sins are forgiven through the atoning death of Christ – if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and believe in Him. This is grace at its maximum. As believers we are called to forgive as He forgave us. However, as humans, we fall so very short of exercising forgiveness when we are wronged or when we are trespassed against; our humanness gets in the way – again!

Where does this unwillingness to forgive come from? I’m not going to over-analyze this for two reasons – I am not completely sure, and secondly, it’s beyond the scope of what I wish to communicate in this website. However, I will give you my best guess. I believe one component of un-forgiveness comes from a statement Jesus made when He spoke about judging other in Luke’s Gospel, when He said to His followers:
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye”
Luke 6: 41.42 (NIV)
We’re too busy looking at the speck in our brother’s eye to see the plank in ours. In other words, we are too judgmental. In my opinion that is the root of our un-willingness to forgive.

So what do we do as Christians? Listen to the clues in the Bible, it is full of sound wisdom. One such passage is found in James:
“My dear brother, take note of this. Every one should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires”
James 1: 19,20 (NIV)

God desires a righteous life. With heightened degrees of righteousness comes the heightened realization that I am a miserable sinner. That realization is primary to our willingness to fully forgive. Ask yourself; “What am I like?” “Who am I?” How can I judge another? My own sins are just as ugly, if not more.

When a wrong comes to you or a situation is presented where your forgiveness is necessary; first, take a full examination of yourself. Look at the ‘planks in your eyes’. I have found that the more I study God’s Word, the more “planks” I see. My shortcomings and inadequacies are greatly enhanced. This is our starting point – doing a full self examination. Secondly, another helpful aspect in this process is comparing our sinfulness to the forgiveness given to you by our Lord. One does not receive a full picture of His forgiveness outside of the understanding His Word. The more you are reading and meditating on God’s Word, the more you see yourself as a miserable sinner and contemplate how wonderful His grace and forgiveness truly is. I’ve named this website “In the shadow of the Cross”, because that is exactly where I desire to be…at the foot of the Cross, where I acknowledge my sinfulness and great need for a Savior. {If you have not done that, I invite you to do so right now.}

In other words, go through the mental exercise of seeing your sin in comparison to God’s forgiveness. Add the fact that Jesus was willing to take that penalty of those sins even while we were in the state of sinfulness or rebellion against Him! That is a mind-boggling thought!

Use your imagination a bit. Place those above-mentioned thoughts and facts and imagine those as a gigantic blanket on a flat surface. Now place the situation or event where forgiveness is necessary, on that gigantic blanket- remember the blanket represents YOUR sins in comparison to God’s forgiveness of them. It takes you to give an honest appraisal of your own shortcomings. Take that particular situation and place in on that blanket. Look at the situation in relation to the blanket that surrounds it. Now you are in a position to see your own ‘planks. When I do this I have found that it is like looking at a small picnic basket on this huge blanket. The situation is so small in comparison to my own sinfulness, that I am now in a position to be more open to forgiveness. I see my own forgiveness afforded to me by God, and this generates my forgiving nature to come forth. Does this happen every time? No, not even close! However, I can say with certainty that it helps put things in a much better light- as Jesus said- I was not paying attention to the plank in my own eye. Jesus is so right- I did not see the planks. But this mental exercise of comparison is one way that a forgiving nature can be manifest. Try it.

How consistent can I be in this endeavor? Jesus asks us to be patient. “If your brother sins, rebuke him and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent’, forgive him. “
Luke 17:3-4.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All Rights Reserved.

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