April 14th, 2022
Forgiveness Isn’t Fair
By Lori Ennis
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12
I’m not sure about you, but forgiveness is often a struggle for me.
Particularly when the person I’m to forgive continues to engage in the same offensive behavior.
With no remorse, no reconciliation, no nothing. Just an “I did it, and you have to forgive me because the Bible says so,” mentality that makes me feel like the whole expectation of me to ‘forgive’ is VERY unfair.
The human in me says, “They’re not really sorry; if they were, they’d change that behavior.” With that, I pull out the very commonly heard, “I guess I’ll forgive, but I’m not forgetting.”
And in that half-hearted ‘forgiveness,’ I’m really just as guilty as the person who I’m ‘forgiving’ in their lack of remorse, reconciliation or behavior change.
Because the truth is…true forgiveness isn’t fair. It stems from our Savior, who humbly took on the weight of the world’s sins in a horrific way to forgive us of them all.
And not the, “I’ll forgive, but I’m not forgetting,” forgiveness…No, He bore the pain and agony so that our sins would be as far from Him as the east is to the west.
The kind of forgiveness that erases the offense and gives a merciful and fresh slate every.single.day.
An innocent man suffering as He did so that He could forgive us for all our wrongs?
So unfair. In every way.
Yet, the ultimate act of Love. In every way.
Forgiveness can be hard, it’s true. And often, it may not feel fair.
But Jesus’s sacrifice wasn’t about what’s fair, and neither is forgiveness because if it was?
What’s fair is we’d painfully pay eternally for our sins.
You don’t have to struggle with forgiveness if you remember the sacrifice Jesus made for YOU and for ME in His forgiveness of our sins.
Then, you can look at forgiveness as an act of obedience, made in lavish love, and be thankful that because of His sacrifice, we don’t get what we really deserve.
By Lori Ennis
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12
I’m not sure about you, but forgiveness is often a struggle for me.
Particularly when the person I’m to forgive continues to engage in the same offensive behavior.
With no remorse, no reconciliation, no nothing. Just an “I did it, and you have to forgive me because the Bible says so,” mentality that makes me feel like the whole expectation of me to ‘forgive’ is VERY unfair.
The human in me says, “They’re not really sorry; if they were, they’d change that behavior.” With that, I pull out the very commonly heard, “I guess I’ll forgive, but I’m not forgetting.”
And in that half-hearted ‘forgiveness,’ I’m really just as guilty as the person who I’m ‘forgiving’ in their lack of remorse, reconciliation or behavior change.
Because the truth is…true forgiveness isn’t fair. It stems from our Savior, who humbly took on the weight of the world’s sins in a horrific way to forgive us of them all.
And not the, “I’ll forgive, but I’m not forgetting,” forgiveness…No, He bore the pain and agony so that our sins would be as far from Him as the east is to the west.
The kind of forgiveness that erases the offense and gives a merciful and fresh slate every.single.day.
An innocent man suffering as He did so that He could forgive us for all our wrongs?
So unfair. In every way.
Yet, the ultimate act of Love. In every way.
Forgiveness can be hard, it’s true. And often, it may not feel fair.
But Jesus’s sacrifice wasn’t about what’s fair, and neither is forgiveness because if it was?
What’s fair is we’d painfully pay eternally for our sins.
You don’t have to struggle with forgiveness if you remember the sacrifice Jesus made for YOU and for ME in His forgiveness of our sins.
Then, you can look at forgiveness as an act of obedience, made in lavish love, and be thankful that because of His sacrifice, we don’t get what we really deserve.
Posted in We Believe
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