We don’t often see forgiveness as a “quid pro quo” event.  Perhaps because at its basic level, there is no way to determine what’s equal in terms of forgiveness.  If we look at forgiveness on a monetary level, then it’s easy to imagine the inequity of forgiveness as being doled out equally.  Certainly, there will be someone whose life is significantly unbalanced by events such as their birth, where they lived, the conditions under which they lived, the poverty level, etc.  That’s the story of the judge and the ex-convict kneeling to take communion side by side.  There’s just no way to figure out who deserves the greater punishment if neither can pay their debt.  So, it is the nature of forgiveness to level the playing field of judgment so that no one seems to get a free pass and no one is punished unnecessarily.  That kind of forgiveness is heart-inspired, showing mercy to each person regardless of the debt they owe.

         We are challenged and encouraged to view each other through the same lens with which Christ views us.  When we’ve been hurt or offended, what does it really take in terms of payment by the offender before we feel we’ve been adequately compensated.  And so, forgiveness that is inspired from the heart allows the offender to be made whole.  At the same time, forgiveness inspired from the heart allows the one offended to be made whole.  You don’t owe them anything more and can’t pay a higher price.  And they don’t owe you anything more and don’t need to come up with more.  It’s not quite what one would call “quid pro quo”, but it comes close to God’s understanding of how forgiveness creates justice for all — both the victim and the perpetrator.  And the praise goes to God, the One who has forgiven both.

• If you counted your sins as a debt you were unable to pay, what would you do to settle the balance owed?
• Who owes you a debt in which your heart-inspired forgiveness could clear their books of a debt owed?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful Christ, open my heart and eyes that I may see others who owe me more than they can pay. Empower me to offer them heart inspired forgiveness to clear their debt of whatever I think they owe.

         How does one find it in their heart to continue to forgive repeat offenders?  It’s a difficult question to answer.  And it’s definitely one that requires a heart-inspired response.  And perhaps a story about repeat offenders might trigger our sensitivity to how God responds to us.

       A pastor's son and his mom had been to a shopping mall and the boy had acted badly, wanting this and that, running off, etcetera.  As they were driving home, he could sense her displeasure and said, “When we ask God to forgive us when we are bad, He does, doesn't He?”  His mother replied, “Yes, He does.”  The boy continued, “And when He forgives us, He buries our sins in the deepest sea, doesn't He?” The mom replied, “Yes, that's what the Bible says.”  The boy was silent for a while and then said, “I've asked God to forgive me, but I bet when we get home, you're going to go fishing for those sins, aren't you?”

         Forgiveness doesn’t come easy for many of us, especially when we’ve been offended repeatedly.  And it’s a good thing to always ask God’s forgiveness for those things we do wrong.  God is the Master Forgiver of repeat offenders.  It’s how God deals with our sins.  But it’s also important to ask those we’ve offended for their forgiveness as well, no matter how many times we’ve offended them.  Asking for forgiveness often alerts us to our own shortcomings and may be a motivating factor to do better.  But it also allows those we’ve offended to know that we haven’t taken them for granted.  Their lack of apology opens the door for us to “go fishing”for sins that God has already buried.  And it’s more difficult for us to forgive sins, when there hasn’t been any acknowledgment that a sin has been committed.  Heart inspired forgiveness is most sincere when a sin has been acknowledged and asked for rather than taken for granted that it’s already been given.

• What makes asking someone besides God for forgiveness so difficult when we have to ask them several times?
• How can we make it easier for someone to approach us to ask for our forgiveness?
• What can make it easier for us to approach someone whom we’ve offended repeatedly?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, your mercies and forgiveness have been extended to me, a repeat offender. Fill my heart with Your mercy that my ability to forgive those who repeatedly sin against me comes from my heart.

         We’ve heard most of the old clichés about revenge: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”; “Revenge is sweet — sweeter than flowing honey.”; and “What goes around, comes around.”  We’ve also heard those clichés about forgiveness that encourage us: “Forgive and forget.”; “Let bygones be bygones.”; and “To err is human; to forgive — divine.”  And all of those comments can be used to suit whatever occasion a person feels is appropriate to their state of mind.  It can become a calming or satisfying justification for their actions or it can be used to fuel the fire of their anger.  But while they become common justifications, they also lack the empathy that generates mercy, and at the very least, a motivation for forgiveness that comes from the heart.

         Someone once said, “There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.”  If revenge is to be sought, then the revenge that seeks forgiveness seems to be an appropriate type of revenge that is inspired from within the heart.  And it comes as close to the heart inspired forgiveness that Christ encourages us to offer to others.

         We’re always able to forgive in our heads — to forget from time to time when we’ve been wronged.  But forgiveness from the heart removes the thought of the wrong against us from our heads and opens the door of mercy in our hearts.  It lets in understanding, grace, and the Holy Spirit of God as motivating forces for us to forgive.  It also frees us and those who have wronged us from the prison of resentment, pain, and injustice.  Then, forgiveness becomes a form of justice in and of itself.  Ultimately that is what heart inspired forgiveness is.  It’s a God inspired system of justice that sets free the initiator of the sin as well as the person who was sinned against so that they may both be free to love each other as God loves us all.

• What would encourage you to forgive someone from your heart other than the fear of not being forgiven by God?
• Why is heart inspired forgiveness is more complete than forgiveness that is spoken but not fully meant?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, grant me the ability to forgive others with a mercy inspired from my heart. Teach me the liberating power that forgiveness brings when I am able to forgive others and myself.