“Anyone whom you forgive, I also
forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your
sake in the presence of Christ. And we do this so that we may not be outwitted
by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”
— 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NRSV)
We need to know when and how to
forgive, not holding a person ransom beyond the redemption of trust past what
is reasonable and merciful. Reasonable people need a way back into the fold.
And unreasonable people need to be left where they are. Knowing the difference
between these is the wisdom of discretion.
We need hearts healthy toward
mercy; minds connected to the heart of God.
In this permissive age, as was the
case in First Century Corinth, it is too easy to get justice wrong; to execute
mercy for the unreasonable, whilst missing the mark and being too tough on the
reasonable person.
If we push the reasonable person
too far we may compel them to become unreasonable. Yet, if we offer mercy for
the unreasonable person, all reasonable people around us will be tempted to
become unreasonable.
People hate bad justice.
Erring on the Side of Mercy
If we were to get one version of
justice wrong it would be better to be more merciful.
The rationale is simple. Where we
are more merciful we trust the person we’re forgiving, which doesn’t mean we
necessarily trust them beyond our forgiveness. But they have fellowship with
us, again. This is healing for them and us.
When the relationship is restored
the opportunity is with them; they shouldn’t want to make the same mistake
again. Having erred on the side of mercy we have done the right thing by
trusting again. We did it so as to protect them from Satan’s clutches.
Should they disappoint us again we
would have further cause to reinforce acceptable standards. But given the
chance, most people could be expected to enjoy the fruit of grace, and improve
that aspect of their engagement with us so it was no longer an issue.
It’s important that we are quick
to forgive, for we put at jeopardy our rapport with God otherwise. Our personal
hurts we are to absorb. And we work with God to forgive. God will create the
heart within us to forgive someone if we let him.
***
Gifts of grace are bountiful
toward mercy. In a race between truth and grace, grace must win. We should not
err in forgiving the reasonable person.
© 2013 S. J.
Wickham.
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