The Freedom of Forgiveness
Greg Laurie
When Leonardo da Vinci was painting The Last Supper, he quarreled
with a fellow painter and was so outraged that he decided to depict
the painter's face as that of Judas. Then, as the great painter was
thinking about how he should render the face of Christ, he
experienced a mental blank. He couldn't bring himself to paint it.
He realized that depicting Judas' face in the likeness of his enemy
was holding him back. So, he went and made amends with the painter
and afterward repainted the face of Judas in a nondescript way.
Then and only then could he portray the face of Jesus in his
painting.
As Christians, we will view certain things such as stealing, lying,
or adultery as sin, while we somehow rationalize bitterness and
unforgiveness in our lives. But we need to acknowledge that this,
too, is sin.
Jesus taught that when we pray, we should say, "Forgive us our
sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us"
(Matthew 6:12 NLT). I believe this verse is saying that if we know
anything of the forgiveness of God, we should extend that same
forgiveness to others. In other words, forgiven people should be
forgiving people. Jesus constantly pressed the issue of forgiving
others in His teachings.
One of the most amazing examples of forgiveness is the story of
Joseph from the Old Testament. When Joseph's brothers betrayed him
and sold him as a slave, he suffered many hardships and setbacks.
Eventually Joseph came into a powerful position in which he could
exact revenge on his brothers, even to the point of destroying
their lives. Instead, he chose to forgive them, saying, "God turned
into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high
position I have today so I could save the lives of many people"
(Genesis 50:20 NLT). How could Joseph make such a statement?
He knew that God is sovereign. Joseph knew that nothing ever comes
into the life of a child of God that has not been approved by Him
first. We forget sometimes that God is sovereign. When Satan came
to attack God's servant, Job, he first had to ask permission.
Although the Lord allowed hardship and difficulty in Job's life,
God knew what he could handle. God knows what you can handle
too.
He knew that God is good. Joseph knew that God is sovereign, but he
also knew that God is good. The things that come into our lives by
God's sovereignty are for our benefit as well as the benefit of
others, which brings to mind Romans 8:28, which says, "And we know
that God causes everything to work together for the good of those
who love God and are called according to his purpose for them"
(NLT). This certainly is a promise we need to know. It is a promise
we need to quote. But it is also a promise we need to
understand.
There are times in my life when something bad, adverse, or
unexpected has happened and God turned it around and something
great came of it. Then there are other things that happen that,
quite frankly, I don't fully understand. Yes, all things work
together for good, but maybe not in the way I would define "good."
The way I define "good" is what makes me happy now, what makes my
life better now, and what makes me experience a certain sense of
well-being. If it is hard, difficult, or costs something, then I
wonder, "How could that be good?"
I am interested in what is temporarily good, while God is
interested in what is eternally good. He is looking at the
long-term to make you more like the Lord Jesus Himself. We put all
of our stock in our temporal comforts. But God looks at the big
picture. There are going to be things in my life that I may not
fully understand until I get to heaven. But I know that somehow, in
God's mercy and grace, He will work them together for good.
It isn't easy to forgive. But I can look back on the setbacks I
have had in life and see how God has turned them around. He can do
the same for you. We can't control our circumstances, but we can
control the way we react to them. Choose to forgive. You will be
glad you did.
