"Father forgive them for they do not know what they do." Luke 23:34
I sat down to write this entry earlier and wrote a handful of sentences and realized that it was not the road I wanted to travel. It was an emotional treatise that became as legalistic as what I was speaking against. I don't want to go there, because Jesus did not go there. Instead as he was hanging from a cross, nails pinning his arms and legs, blood pouring out of him, sweat dripping, thorns gripping his head, life slowly leaving, and he looks out at all the people who put him there either by words or deeds and begs for their forgiveness.
I hope that God said yes. And if God did, if God said yes, if God forgave them for the murder of his son, how much do you think God holds your sin against you? Just think about that for a moment. If God can forgive those who literally pinned Jesus to a cross, if God can forgive those who vocally called for the death of a son, of course he can forgive you. Forgive you for your lies. Forgive you for your betrayals. Forgive you for your gossip. Forgive you for your harsh words. Forgive you for overlooking all people. Forgive you for your lack of faith. Forgive you for each and every sin that you have committed, or currently are committing.
We don't often preach that in our churches. I think partly because guilt keeps us in business. We dispense grace and hope, but in small doses, Jesus did not. Most Christians, if we were in Jesus's place, would say something like, "Father do you have to forgive them?" Jesus does not, in his pain, in his anguish, he cares more for his enemies than he does for himself. That, my friends, is love, real love, not that a man would lay down his life for his friends, but that he would gladly lay it down for friend or foe.
+ Do you believe God said yes?
+ What does this do for your understanding of salvation?
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