Your greatest Superpower: Forgiveness

Scripture: Matthew 5:48

Opening Hymn: #470 There’s Sunshine in My Soul Today

Closing Hymn: #190 Jesus Loves Me

Me

Every week I am more and more convinced of the same thing.

We live in a world that is desperate for love.

Many of us think its more:

Power

Strength

Justice

But what we need more than all of that is love.

The problem is that sharing love with others is one of the most difficult things a person can do.

When I think about the hard choices in my life. Love is at the top of the list.

There was a long time when I couldn’t muster the words, “I Love You” to my mother.

I felt:

Abandoned

Betrayed

Alone

Damaged

I didn’t want to be in the same room as her and dreaded her presence.

But here’s the thing about family. Family is always family even when you don’t like family. Even though I believed she was a lousy mother, she was still my mother.

We

What I am describing to you is not an isolated incident. There are many of us who have been wronged and hurt deeply by others.

We may have been hurt by their actions or their words.

We may have been hurt by:

political parties

pastors

in-laws

church members

But here’s the beauty of all of that hurt.

We don’t have the ability to forgive actions and words. But we do have the ability to forgive people.

Forgiveness is less about fixing hurtful actions and more about mending relationships.

God

Forgiveness of actions and choices belongs to God.

Mark 2:1–12 ESV

1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

While God has the ability to mend our character, you and I have the ability to mend people.

When we talk about wrong doing in the Bible, there are three terms that are typically used:

Iniquity

Sin

Transgressions

Iniquity is crooked or wrong behavior.

Sin is a description of moral failure.

But Transgression is very different. This is a term used to describe an act that breaks a relationship.

In the Bible you can’t transgress against someone, you can only commit transgression with someone.

Because a relationship is an agreement and when you betray a member of said agreement, you are both in transgression, or to say it another way, you are both in disagreement.

The Biblical version of forgiveness is not a simple, “I’m sorry” its to get back into agreement with one another.

Or to even say it another way:

Why does God forgive sin? Is it because He is okay with our sinful actions? God forgives because relationship is of far greater importance than actions.

In fact that is the story of the entire Bible, God seeking to mend His relationship with humanity.

Humanity broke their agreement with God in the garden. This relationship would not be mended until the cross.

How? The cross is love in action.

What does active love look like? Forgiveness.

Because the death of the Messiah was more for the Pharisees than it was for the disciples.

It was more for Barabbas than it was for Mary.

It was more for the angry crowd at the cross than for Jesus’ loving followers.

Jesus doesn’t stay on the cross for His disciples, He stays there for Caiaphas and for Herod and for the worst of the worst.

Because Jesus doesn’t just love the best, he loves the worst too.

We too are called to love the worst.

Matthew 5:43–48 ESV

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What does it mean to be perfect like the Father?

Love and forgive people.

That is who Jesus is.

That is what the kingdom of Heaven is all about.

This is the call of the Christian. Not to be right. But to love, because by loving, we mend relationships.

You

It was time. I knew it was and there was no getting around it. I needed to forgive my mother. Not because I was okay with what she had done. I wasn’t. I knew there was no way I could forgive those actions. I didn’t and still don’t have the capacity nor the fortitude to do that.

But what I can do, is love her. I chose to love her.

Not because she had earned my love.

But because that is what Jesus did for me. And that changed me. If Jesus’ love for me could change me.

Imagine what that would do for my mother.

Are we perfect today? Nope not even close. But our relationship is mended. It still has scares and bruises, but its mended.

We

We are called to love. We are called to forgive. Not because it is the right thing to do but because He first loved us.

He loved us not because we were right, holy, correct, or wonderful in any shape or fashion.

But God loved us because that is exactly who He is.

And that is exactly who Christians are.

They are not the correct ones, but the loving ones.

We are not the judging, but the loving.

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.