To hear this Morning Devotion, please click here Forgiveness is never a solo affair
Forgiveness is never a solo event.
In fact, it is typically the fruit of multiple efforts.
Yes, it’s true that individuals must forgive themselves for having made bad choices that negatively affected others.
We’ve all seen individuals imprisoned by residual feelings to guilt and unwilling to humbly accept the fact that inner peace cannot come through grit but only through grace.
Fortunately, though, we’ve seen a larger number of people who accept the fact that forgiving self is just part of the mercy matrix.
Others are needed to teach us of the need for forgiveness, of how it might be gained, and to accompany us emotionally and spiritually along that challenging, humbling path toward spiritual and emotional restoration.
I’m praying that you are part of somebody’s matrix of mercy.
I’m praying that God is using you to help somebody toward spiritual peace with God and emotional peace with himself or herself.
This is one of the key reasons that God stirs us toward the seeking of friendships — so that we can help each other toward restoration when forgiveness is necessary.
I was reminded of the above while reading from Luke 5 this morning in the One-Year Bible.
Verses 17-26 tell of four friends who bring the paralytic on a mat to Jesus for healing, yet the five men can’t fit into the crowded house where Jesus was teaching. You know what happened. They tore a hole in the roof and lowered the paralytic down with ropes until he was right in front of Jesus.
“When Jesus saw their faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven’” (v. 20).
Wow.
Huh?
Four guys showed their love for a friend and he then is forgiven of sin? What’s up with that connection? Why not just heal the guy and then deal with his sin issue later?
Jesus had a bigger plan, of course. He always does.
The forgiveness set the stage for the subsequent healing and explosion of praise for God that followed among the people of that area.
And besides, without forgiveness, the man would have lived as one walking toward eternity in hell.
This forgiveness/healing is a great story.
The key principle I want to glean today, however, is that this man might never have heard Jesus say, “your sins are forgiven” if the friends had not interceded in order to show their loving desire for his physical healing.
Listen, I have never seen a person come to Jesus for forgiveness in the absence of godly influence by somebody or some group in his or her life.
Yes, it’s possible and randomly occurs that somebody gets saved apart from an active, “seeker” involvement in a local congregation.
But no forgiveness occurs in a vacuum of caring relationships.
Somebody, somewhere has demonstrated the place and power of grace in a way that left an impression on the sinner needing salvation.
Usually it was a very patient, godly friend or relative.
It’s very likely that your cry to Jesus for forgiveness occurred against the backdrop of a friend describing to you the peace and joy found on the other side of repentance and surrendering to Christ’s Lordship.
Please, my friend, understand that your friend or relative needing forgiveness will likely miss out on seeking God’s grace through the gospel if you and his/her Christian friends/relatives don’t intercede.
Even if your intercession is initially directed at helping them for a tangible, physical reason, just being in their presence as you demonstrate Christ’s presence in your life will very likely move them closer to an encounter with Jesus.
And without that, there will never be hope for their eternal forgiveness.
As always, I love you
Martin
