Forgiveness in Christ

Following Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour totally transforms our perspective.  Faith in God is not intended to be an isolated part of our lives but practically impact everything.  This goes far beyond our beliefs or thoughts but plays out daily in the way we respond.

Last night I turned on the rugby all-star clash between the New Zealand and Indigenous Australian teams.  After seeing the Kiwis belt out their national anthem with gusto as one, I was saddened to see the Indigenous players strangely silent whilst "Advance Australia Fair" was played.  It seems I was not the only one who noticed, as it was addressed in an opinion piece on the NRL website and an article on 9 News.  According to the article, the Australian captain responded when asked about the silence, saying "...he didn’t believe the song represented himself or his family and the lyrics embodied a different message to Indigenous people. It just brings back so many memories from what's happened, and it's something everyone as a group and everyone in Australia needs to, I suppose, get together and work something out.”  This isn't the first time people have been hurt, offended, or at odds with one another, but I was sad nonetheless.  Based on his comments it doesn't seem Walker is against the song, per se, but has unresolved conflict over the past.

I'm relatively new to these fair shores, and do not presume to be an authority on the terrible tragedies suffered by Indigenous Australians.  I do know there is a "National Sorry Day" celebrated annually on 26 May, and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2008 issued an apology on behalf of the Federal government.  It may be common sentiment among hurting people that "Sorry isn't enough," yet being genuinely sorry is of little benefit when there is no forgiveness.  That is when healing can begin.  I have seen people, though faith in Jesus Christ, forgive and pray for those who have hurt them when the perpetrator isn't sorry - and perhaps still denies all wrongdoing.  By Jesus Christ healing and freedom from inescapable pains of the past can be a lasting result.

Without Jesus, this freedom and capacity for forgiveness is impossible.  Having freely been forgiven by the grace of God, how fitting is it for followers of Jesus to forgive others too.  Matthew 18:21-22 says, "Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" ²² Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."  That's a lot of forgiveness!  God has forgiven us beyond measure, more than anyone could ever do us wrong.  Forgiveness is never easy, but is righteous, good, and a clear step towards healing wounds new and old.  Time does not heal all wounds; the past cannot be undone:  but by God's grace we can forgive and discover abundant life in Christ.

Democratic Musings of C.S. Lewis

I've been reading a compilation of quotes by C.S. Lewis lately and have been enjoying it.  I was especially intrigued by the section on Democracy, and his insights focused through a God-honouring lens are worthy of consideration today.  This is one of my favourites, quoted from an essay written in 1943 titled "Equality":

"I am a democrat because I believe in the Fall of Man.  I think most people are democrats for the opposite reason.  A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that everyone deserved a share in the government.  The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they're not true...I find that they're not true without looking further than myself.  I don't deserve a share in governing a hen-roost, much less a nation...The real reason for democracy is...Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows.  Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves.  I do not contradict him.  But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters." (Lewis, C. S., et al. The Quotable Lewis. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990. #326; pages 152-153)

Another notable quote on the subject was gleaned from The Screwtape Letters penned in 1959:

Democracy is the word with which you must lead them by the nose...The feeling I mean is of course that which prompts a man to say "I'm as good as you."

The first and most obvious advantage is that you thus induce him to enthrone at the centre of his life a good, solid resounding lie.  I don't mean merely that his statement is false in fact, that he is not more equal to everyone he meets in kindness, honesty, and good sense than in height or waist-measurement.  I mean that he does not believe it himself.  No man who says, "I'm as good as you" believes it.  He would not say it if he did.  The St. Bernard never says it to the toy dog, nor the scholar to the dunce, nor the employable to the bum, nor the pretty woman to the plain.  The claim to equality, outside the strictly political field, is made only by those who feel themselves to be in some way inferior.  What it expresses is precisely the itching, smarting, writhing awareness of an inferiority which the patient refuses to accept...

Now this useful phenomenon is in itself by no means new.  Under the name of Envy it has been known to the humans for thousands of years.  But hitherto they always regarded it as the most odious, and also the most comical, of vices.  Those who were aware of feeling it felt it with shame; those who were not gave it no quarter in others.  The delightful novelty of the present situation is that you can sanction it - make it respectable and even laudable - by the incantatory use of the word democratic." (Lewis, C. S., et al. The Quotable Lewis. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990. #332; pages 154-155)

I encourage you to find books of believing writers which make you think, for often they arrive at sublime conclusions we would not discover by ourselves.  It is good to read books which dive deeper into subjects than your thoughts natural range which stretch and challenge you to run at breakneck speed to keep up - whilst the author walks at a casual, conversational pace.  The best book of all is the Holy Bible which goes to a supernatural depth no great thinker can adequately plumb, but the truth and applications are revealed by the Holy Spirit to the humble heart and willing mind at all levels of learning.  It is a satisfying feeling to use our brains to consider and weigh concepts as God intended, realising there is much more to thinking than we previously imagined.

Sorrow without Regret

"Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰ For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."

2 Corinthians 7:9-10

Sorrow is common in our human condition.  Grief, heaviness, and even guilt can be beneficial for us and others when godly sorrow leads us to repentance.  The context of the quoted passage is Paul was sad to see the Corinthians sorrowful over their sin, but he was pleased that it provoked a healthy and positive response in them to humbly repent before God.  It is one thing to acknowledge we have done wrong, but another thing entirely to put off the sin moving forward - and actually be joyful to move on in faith.  The lives of Judas and Peter provide illustrations of sorrow in a worldly and godly manner.  Both Judas and Peter fell into sin as do we all, and the way we deal with it will determine the fruit which remains.

There are many similarities between Judas and Peter:  they were both called by Jesus as disciples, followed Him for years, and were both informed they would respectively betray and deny Jesus. After Judas made a covenant with the Jewish rulers to betray Jesus away from the crowds for 30 pieces of silver, he was overcome with guilt for his sin.  Matthew 27:3-5 says, "Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!"⁵ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself."  Judas knew he had done wrong, but the sorrow produced by his sin was not handled in a godly manner:  without repentance before God it produced death.  Instead of humbling himself before God, Judas determined swift justice was what he deserved.  He transgressed further by taking vengeance upon himself without care of God's grace or mercy.

Peter strongly opposed the suggestion he would deny Jesus, yet later that same night he did so three times.  It was only after he did deny Jesus it hit home in Matthew 26:75:  "And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly."  Peter experienced great sorrow due to his sin, and rightly so.  He had denied Jesus the Son of God who was crucified on Calvary.  Clearly Peter had the same opportunity to tie a rope around his neck and leap to his death, but his life revealed a response to sorrow in a godly manner.  After Jesus was risen from the dead, He called out to Peter and his fellow fishermen.  When they brought in a sizeable catch, it dawned on Peter who spoke with them in John 21:7:  "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea."  Peter did not jump into the sea to swim away from Jesus, but raced to be close to Jesus.  Peter's friendship and fellowship was restored with Jesus that day, and he went on to lead others to salvation through faith in Christ.

Judas and Peter both sorrowed for their own sin, but their responses were totally different.  I am sure they both "beat themselves up" as we also are prone to do when we have done wrong, but followers of Jesus are called to repentance leading to salvation which is not to be regretted.  There is nothing to regret about restoration to friendship with God.  The sorrow of the world, however, always produces death even when a rope is not employed to end it all:  death of fruitfulness, death of a solid witness, death of viable ministry, the death of relationship.  Worldly sorrow is a slow, painful death leading to death we can be delivered from when we rush to Christ in faith and repentance.  Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, and the fact Peter jumped and swam to Jesus was evidence of godly sorrow coupled with genuine love.  May the LORD produce in us this godly sorrow which leads to salvation, not only for us but leading to the salvation of others.

Knowing and Experiencing God

There is a push today to "experience" God, and this is nothing new.  People want to have tangible evidence and experiences which for them confirm the reality of God's existence and power.  Whilst I applaud the desire to seek and know God who has revealed Himself in the world and His Word, the pursuit of religious experiences brings the divine down to the level of a hokey parlour trick.  To know God is to experience Him, and He is more than tingly or warm sensations.

In an old Mythbusters episode, the build team had the goofy idea that ancient people may have used small electrical currents to provide a "religious experience."  The largely western bias that what was believed to be a religious experience could not be supernatural was on full display.  Electric shocks, mind-altering drugs, and superstitions of ignorant people are seen by modern folks as plausible ways people believed they were in contact with God.  Whilst many ignorant and deceived people imagined they had an experience with God and were mistaken, it does not mean God is a sham.  Jesus backed up His claim of being the Way, the Truth, and the Life by rising from the dead and ascending to heaven in the presence of many witnesses.  This experience of Christ's disciples was more than euphoria but a realisation of God's reality and the promise of eternal life made theirs through faith in Jesus.

There is no set formula to receiving a revelation of God like we have to assemble a cabinet purchased at IKEA or following a wiring diagram to connect to electrical current.  In the scriptures we see God reveal Himself in ways which are shocking and surprising:  God spoke to people who loved Him and also to people who hated Him.  His presence was displayed as a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night.  Mt. Sinai shook and trembled in smoke when He descended, and also spoke to the prophet Elijah alone with a still, small voice.  He caused barren women to bring forth children, and rendered Zechariah mute until he named his son John.  God caused Mary to conceive as a virgin and bring forth Jesus Christ - that sounds like an unique experience!  The truth is God desires to be known, and those who seek Him will find Him.  He has more than a tingle of the fingers or splintering the sky with a thunderbolt, but love, acceptance, and forgiveness.  He provides abundant life which transcends experience.

One of God's laments in scripture is His people did not know Him.  The nation of Israel worked to follow His Laws but their ignorance of God was revealed by their lives which were bankrupt of His character.  Knowing God transforms people from within.  See what He spoke through the prophet in Jeremiah 9:3-6: "And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me," says the LORD. ⁴ "Everyone take heed to his neighbour, and do not trust any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanderers. ⁵ Everyone will deceive his neighbour, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity. ⁶ Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me," says the LORD."  As people gathered for the feasts, prayed, sang, and offered sacrifices, it was quite the religious experience.  No doubt hair stood on end as the priests shouted praise to God, and what about when fire fell from heaven at the prayer of Solomon and consumed the offering?  God desired more than shivers down and spine, prophesying, and memories, that people would know Him.

Knowledge of God is enjoined through the mind coupled with faith.  I expect many were physically healed by Jesus who wondered how He was able to heal but did not worship Him as God.  There were people who pressed through the crowd to seek Jesus and were healed, and others Jesus came to alone and restored body and soul.  There were people who only heard of what Jesus did and cried out to Him believing, and others who witnessed Him raise a man from the dead sought to kill Him.  The concept of a "religious experience" can be pleasing to the atheist and agnostic, but more than being pleased ourselves we should do what pleases God.  Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."  God was pleased to give people senses, yet His presence transcends feelings, senses, physical healing, and knowledge.  A lot passes for a religious experience today, and our lives are meant to be more than a successive string of them because Jesus is our life.