Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity, and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old. Micah 7: 18-20, NKJV.
Dear Lord, please “come by here” and enrich our study, with Your glorious presence. In Jesus’ name we humbly pray. Amen.
There are people who are not too happy with the image of a God who is always loving and forgiving. Isn’t that sad? It seems they would rather have a God who is exact in punishment; and unrelenting in vengeance. I do not understand that kind of reasoning. Perhaps they do not need much forgiveness. Jesus said, “But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little” (Luke 7: 47, NRSV). These were Jesus’ words to Simon the leper, who was looking down on Mary Magdalene, for her beautiful expression of love toward Jesus – that of washing His feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, and anointing them with the oil from her alabaster box.
Simon had received healing from his leprosy. Mary had received healing from her former lifestyle, when Jesus cast seven demons out of her. Perhaps Simon believed that he deserved to be healed. Mary saw her experience of healing as an act of grace. When we believe that someone owes us something; we do not receive what they offer us as a gift, but rather, as something that we deserve. When we know that we do not deserve anything; then what we receive, we receive as an undeserved gift – grace!
But the strange twist to this, is that there are also those to whom much has been forgiven, yet they are not too quick to grant forgiveness, “Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you’ ” (Matthew 18: 32, 33)? This is taken from a parable that Jesus told regarding forgiveness.
Similar dynamics are at work here. One slave owes his master $52,800,000, if they are silver talents; and begs his master to be patient with him until he can repay the debt. His master forgives him the entire debt! The other slave owes his fellow-slave $44, and pleads with him to give him some time to repay the debt. Instead of offering to his fellow-slave the forgiveness that he received; he cast him into prison! When we behave this way, it leaves me to conclude, that deep down, we do not see God as a loving, merciful, God, in our own experience; or it would be virtually impossible to treat each other this way!
The next time someone offends you; remember how your heavenly Father delights in mercy! Remember where your confessed sins are: ‘in the depths of the sea.” Remember also, that there are parts of the sea that have not been measured because of its profoundness! Then ask the Holy Spirit to take the memory of that person’s offense away from you, and cast it into the “sea of forgetfulness,” to be remembered no more! An unforgiving spirit is not from God; therefore, as children of God, let us have nothing to do with it!