In this final part of the series on Lessons from Joseph, how and why did Joseph forgive his bothers? What can we learn about forgiveness from his story?
No this is not about sticking to a diet or being faithful to a gym program or even trying to kick a bad habit. It is forgiving.
Am I the only one who finds forgiveness one of the hardest things in the world? Sure it’s easy when they come to you and ask for forgiveness. It’s easy when they are sorry and you know they won’t do it again. It’s easy when you know that you won’t get hurt again. It’s easy when they make reparations for the wrong they have done.
But what if those people don’t know that you are hurt? Or worse, those people who don’t care that you are hurt?
How easy is it to forgive knowing that they don’t care about their forgiveness and are going to hurt you again? What if there is nothing they can do to make it better?
I looked up the word forgive and its derivatives in the Bible and it is mentioned 118 times. The word mercy appears 276 times. This doesn’t include forbearing, clearing the guilty, blotting out sin etc. Peter asked Jesus how many times we should forgive someone and Jesus said 77 or 70 x 7 times (depending on translation). With seven being the number for God, perfection and completeness it begs the comparison that we should forgive like God: perfectly and completely.
To be like God?? How on earth can we achieve this impossible task? I think that change like this is gradual. We are changed from bit by bit, from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18), the more we focus on God. In fact the more we focus on God, meditate on His Word, admire the radiance of His Glory the more we will be changed. Bit by bit by bit. Focusing on God lifts us up to Him and then our perspective on ourselves, the world and the one who wronged us will change.
In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells us about the unforgiving servant. The servant who owed a massive, impossible debt is miraculously granted release. This same servant turns around and hits up someone who owes him a few thousand dollars (or equivalent of 3 months pay). When he asks for more time the servant throws this fellow debtor in jail.
When we see God as He truly is, we see ourselves as we truly are – totally indebted to God. We see that God loves us so unconditionally. And when we let this love totally overwhelm us and enrich us we can love more like Him and we can be truly free to forgive.
by: Bronwyn
“To err is human, to forgive Divine.” (Alexander Pope, “Essay on Criticism“)
We all experience mistakes. Big or small we will both author and receive mistakes. Yet, mistakes give us the opportunity to experience the power of forgiveness.
The past week we had our hot water system burst. I walked into our tiled bathroom and slipped haphazardly on a thick and expanding film of water. My wobbly-legged one-year-old son followed close behind me. He grinned with excitement before I whipped him up out of the danger zone to his disappointment. After speaking with the real estate agent to contact a plumber, she asked me if I could access the hot water heater and turn it off. I quickly said yes but after hanging up it dawned on me that I have never turned off a hot water heater.
The first challenge was accessing the unit. It was behind a heavy wooden board in the bathroom tucked away behind the washing machine. To my surprise I shifted the washing machine away with ease. However, lifting the heavy wooden door was the real challenge. I tried several times to lift the door but to no avail. I only managed to budge it a little. More water poured onto my tiles. I pushed harder. Sweat poured down my face and I remember thinking a dress was a poor choice for today. Finally the door budged and I could lift it out. What a relief! Now, it was just a matter of finding the water valve.
There were no clear instructions as I had hoped.
I quickly ‘Googled’ for the answer. A YouTube video instructed I would need an electrician! Meanwhile, water poured through the bathroom and the carpets were getting saturated around the outer bathroom walls.
Just then my husband walked in the front door from work. After disappearing into the bathroom, he reappeared seconds later and said he turned the valve off. To my credit it was behind the cylinder making it difficult to see. I was so relieved it was off. Later that evening we learned that three units below us received water damage due to a defect on the building’s piping.
This drama did not come as a complete surprise to us. Three months prior we had the water heater assessed as we noticed rust in our hot water. Our real estate agent called me the next day to apologize. She had received approval from the owners to replace the hot water heater months ago but had forgotten to action the request. She asked if there was any damage to our personal items. There wasn’t but the carpets just needed to be dried. She remained professional but I sensed how disheartened she felt about the situation. I empathized with her and told her how things can slip through when you are juggling a number of requests. In addition, she was new to her role.
Later that day the owner called me directly and apologized. She was angry with the real estate agent. I did my best to try to sooth the situation.
The drama gave me thought on how easy it is for us to err and how difficult it is to either ask or grant forgiveness. Jesus said while instructing his disciples how to pray ‘Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” (Luke 11:4) He also said, “Blessed are the peacemakers…” (Matthew 5:9)
We live in an angry world. A world that demands repayment when they are wronged or even offended these days. In our moments of loss (or victimhood) we feel we must be compensated swiftly. It is not unnatural to feel this way nor is it unjust to demand a wrong to be fixed.
Yet in moments where we stand as the victim of someone else’s mistake or offence, we should remember the Lord Jesus Christ’s mind-blowing words to those that crucified Him.
He requested that they be forgiven. (Luke 23:34)
