A young mother was trying to console her broken-hearted son. The child had asked his mother why her boyfriend had suddenly disappeared from the house and taken everything he owned with him. Trying to be as nice as possible, the young mother said, “Darling, he is angry with me, and that was the only thing that he had any control over to try to hurt me with.”
Anger burns hot. It is the ultimate self-fuelling emotion. If not extinguished, it will scorch a trail of hate and destruction wherever it is allowed to go.
Most of us would think this melodramatic. We reason: “Everyone gets mad, and everyone gets over it. So, where’s the hate and destruction?”
This, of course, ignores a lot of what is considered “normal behaviour.” The world easily shrugs off dislike, dis-function (and any other attempts at revenge) as normal—as long as it isn’t directly impacting them, that is. Thus, when forgiveness is being attempted,…well, you might want to check the fine print—conditions may apply!
On the other hand, divine forgiveness is free and limitless: “There’s no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus” (Rom.8:1). It is a spiritual blessing only found “in Christ Jesus.” Henceforth, we must never cease to urge others to: Believe that Jesus is the Saviour of the world, repent of their sins, confess that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, and be “baptised into Christ.”
This is grace to be shared. Paul, formerly a hater of Christ and Christians, personally experienced Jesus’ forgiveness. That is why he urges us: “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).
It is because we enjoy the saving power of divine forgiveness that we share it—Free and limitless.
John Staiger
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