FORGIVENESS AND FREEDOM

Charles Swindoll in Improving Your Serve relates the story of two unmarried sisters who lived together in a small house, but hadn’t spoken to one another in years. They continued to eat at the same table, use the same appliances, and sleep in the same room…without one word. A chalk line divided the sleeping area into two halves. Each would come and go, yet never acknowledge the other. The crazy thing is that neither of them could recall the source of the original disagreement! Seething so deeply with bitterness and pride, both were unwilling to take the first step toward healing.

 In case you haven’t noticed, people will offend you in life. The question is, how will you respond? God tells us to “forgive one another” (Ephesians 4:32). But forgiveness is much more than a legalistic ordinance; it’s a way of life that frees us. These sisters were both trapped in a prison of their own creation. But by releasing someone into God’s hands who’s wronged us—seriously wronged us— and trusting him to take care of it, we experience genuine freedom.

 There are no “tricks” to employ. We simply entrust the person and situation to God. That doesn’t mean you necessarily have a “good feeling” about the person. It’s not “letting them off the hook” or saying what they did was OK. It doesn’t always restore the original relationship. Forgiveness is not a feeling; it’s a choice. We choose to forgive, and then God goes to work on changing our feelings. The results are, quite literally, miraculous.

 Just before Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper, he engaged in a violent quarrel with a fellow artist. As he painted the face of Judas, he drew in the face of his enemy, with a morbid sense of triumph. However, attempting to paint the face of Jesus produced repeated failure. Eventually, he removed his enemy’s face from the picture, and in doing so, he was set free to create the masterpiece we love today.

Seeing the face of Jesus, changes everything. I Peter 2:21 states, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example...” Verse 23 explains, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate…Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” Imagine being slapped, spit on, mocked, and beaten until you were unrecognizable…and then praying for your oppressors’ forgiveness. Now that’s freedom! How’s that possible? “He entrusted” it to God. Perhaps you’re struggling with forgiveness. Turn your eyes to the face of Jesus. Look to his example…and let him free you from your self-imposed prison.