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Warning – This might be a ridiculously long post, sorry!

Have you heard the story of the snake that in a quest to injure his opponent killed itself? It’s opponent was a saw blade. Wrapping itself around the blade and squeezing did nothing but hurt the snake. If you’ve seen memes regarding this it will often end with something like “it’s about what happens to us when we hold on… when we don’t let go of negative emotions.” or “Forgive those that hurt you…it can ultimately kill you” What about the story of hunting wolves where blood is frozen on a knife and put out in the snow or icy cold. The wolf begins to lick the knife and eventually it is the wolf’s blood on the knife and the wolf bleeds and dies. Often on these memes we are left with the question of what consumes us? What is the hunger in our lives that is slowly killing us? “What is your blood knife?”

In both situations the animal was following its natural instinct. It was doing what it thought was best. When we take these stories and swap out people for animals we realize or we should that our best isn’t really good enough. It is God’s righteousness not ours that matters, right? You knew I was bringing the bible into this so let’s go.

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:15

When we talk about forgiveness there is so much to discuss and unpack and I won’t even begin to cover the surface. We all know the verses on forgiveness, we’re supposed to forgive 70×7. God forgave us so we have to forgive others. Let’s talk first about why forgiveness even matters to God. To do that I feel like we gotta go back to the Old Testament and the law. Calm down, I know speaking of the old Levitical law stresses some of you but just hold on. Before we’re there though we gotta go back, way on back, back, way on back, back to the beginning. We’re starting this rant at the very beginning – Creation.

²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. ²¹ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? ²² Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18:20-22

Can you imagine what that perfect place looked and felt like? Can you image momentarily with me no sin, no death, no dying, no sickness, no disease, no gossip, no jealousy, no lying, no cheating, no hurting, just perfection? I’ll be honest, all I know is living in a sin sick world so although the idea is beautiful, I can’t image it, not really. Whether I can image it or not, that is what Adam and Eve were created in. That is what God wanted for each of us. It’s why Jesus came to earth and died on a cross. It was to restore mans relationship with the father and by doing so we can live eternally in perfection with Him. If we believe that He created Adam and Eve in perfection then we must believe His perfect plan did not include the need for forgiveness because we weren’t supposed to be hurt by each other. Let that sink in for a minute or two. In a perfect world your parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, spouse, friends, co-workers, and anyone else was never supposed to hurt you. When we talk about no more pain in Heaven or at the beginning in the Garden we automatically go to physical pain, but pain isn’t just physical. It can be emotional also. If it’s an open ended no pain that must include all pain, not just physical. Before we do anything else we have to understand that God’s intention for us was joy in Him without suffering. We can’t miss that building block! Are we together so far? Great so let’s move on to the law. 

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24

I’ll keep this section short, but you can’t overlook the law. What was the point of the law? To show us how to live, yes, but go a bit simpler. We have free will, correct? We can obey laws or not, it’s really up to us what we do. When given a choice of following the rules or having a punishment some people would rather follow the rules. Does this apply to everyone? Obviously not or we wouldn’t need jails in our society. God’s perfect world was so messed up but He wants us to do right by Him which includes doing right by others. Go back to building block number 1, God wants us to have joy in Him without suffering. Laws were implemented as a school master to bring us to Him, to teach us how to live. The laws are another building block to bring us back to what He originally designed.

I recently watched a reel and the person was saying when she first got saved she was complaining about reading the Bible, it’s so long, the font is so small, the pages are so thin. The pastor took the first couple of pages and said these first two chapters are proof that God intends only good for us. The rest of it is humans messing it up and God continuing to chase after us. Such a simple truth and truth is exactly what it is. God wants the best for us. Do we always get it? No! People have free will and sometimes it’s our free will that messes it up and sometimes it’s another person’s free will that messes it up.

⁹ And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? ¹¹ She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8:-9-11

I can hear people telling me already, ‘well, what God originally intended didn’t happen! ABC Person did XYZ Sin against me’ I agree what God intended is not what happened. Sin happened and I can’t think of a person that hasn’t experienced sin in some way against them. Is it fair? No, but we don’t want fair. Let me explain I did a demonstration once with my Sunday School class. I brought a band aid for everyone and asked them to place it on a specific finger, I don’t recall which one, let’s say it was the index finger on the right hand. Do you know how many people needed the band aid? Just one. What I did was fair, I treated everyone exactly the same; they all received the same exact thing. The people that didn’t need a band aid got one but what was the point? I mean, come on, they didn’t need it. We don’t want fair, we want just. They aren’t the same. We want justice! Spoiler alert, we don’t know enough about both sides to know what is truly just. We know our side. Maybe someone did something to you that was vile and evil and you say it doesn’t matter their side or reasons because what they did was unforgiveable! I feel ya, and the flesh in me agrees with you. If someone did something truly vile and evil my flesh is right there with you calling for a stoning.  That’s the problem it’s my flesh that’s right there with you. I can’t think of any time that my flesh has been right.

Since the beginning God has wanted good for us and we keep messing it up. His good includes us doing right by others and that includes when they didn’t do right. My goal is to be like Christ and that should be the goal of each of us. If it is then regardless of what a person did to us we forgive them because Christ would forgive. Would you forgive someone that beat your child? It doesn’t matter their age, it’s your kid and you love them. Do you forgive the person that did this? Your child was the most giving and loving person you have ever known and what can only be described as a mob took their life. They mocked them, tore their clothes, leaving them humiliated in the street. Can you forgive that? God the Father did. Jesus forgave them, Stephen forgave those that killed him. They didn’t deserve it why forgive them?  If we want to be like God no matter how vile and evil they have been we must put our flesh aside and forgive. I will never tell you it’s easy, because it isn’t. I hear christians say how easy forgiveness is. I roll my eyes because no it isn’t. 

Even the secular world will tell you forgiveness isn’t for the other person it’s for you, the victim. Go back to the snake. Let’s give the snake a story, shall we? The snake is a little girl and she was raped when she was 11. Her innocence was violently taken. He becomes a successful businessman. It seems that life is perfect for him. While she struggles to hold her life together. Why is he successful? Why does his life seem so perfect? He took everything from her and she has nothing. If she continues to hold on to the anger, bitterness, shame, guilt, and all the other feelings that she is feeling she will die like the snake. Doing what comes natural to her she leans into those feelings, but they aren’t doing her any good. The more she leans into those feelings the more she hurts. Instead of holding the feelings she could give the pain to God and let Him heal her the little snake could have slithered away and lived the beautiful life she thought he had. Appearances aren’t always true. He may be successful, but maybe his life isn’t what she thinks it is. Even if it is God will judge him and he will get the just punishment he deserves. Nothing that happens to him will ever satisfy her and will continue to haunt her if she doesn’t move on. 

While she is trying her best to kill the saw those around her are trying to pull her off the saw and they are starting to get hurt. Its a messed up cycle that can end with forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t sweeping anything under the rug. It’s allowing God to give the punishment and me keeping my hands out of it. It’s showing love when love doesn’t come easy. 

The first building block was all the way back in the Garden of Eden that God wants us to have joy in Him without suffering. That’s still what He wants, but in order to have that even if the person doesn’t deserve forgiveness, even if they don’t ask for forgiveness, we have to give it so we can live in joy in God.