Don't Get Over It...Forgive

Forgiveness. That' s what I was hoping to receive as the officer strutted up to my window. After all, I honestly had not realized that I was in a Construction Zone. I wasn't shaking my fist at the law, I was just sleepy and not paying attention. Honest mistake, right? Surely he will understand.

He didn't. In fact, he seemed to take great joy in writing the ticket. My mistake proved to be quite costly. Since then, I have paid my debt to the great state of Kentucky and the offense has been removed from my driving record. Forgiveness at last. I am once again in good standing with my government and they have no legal right to hold this against me in the future.

Forgiveness is a misunderstood term in our culture today. We associate it with phrases like, "Don't worry about it..." or "It was no big deal, I can get over it..." These notions do not represent biblical forgiveness. The Bible teaches us that sin is a big deal and that we should certainly worry about it. God didn't 'get over' our sin, He sent His Son to die in our place. God has forgiven us only because, in Christ, our debt has been paid.

When we forgive others, we should not seek to simply look past their offense. Forgiveness is not ignoring pain or pretending to be invulnerable. Instead, we must expose their sin for what it is, acknowledge its negative effect on us, and then turn to the Cross of Christ to acknowledge its payment. We can forgive because the debt has been paid.

If that officer would have let me off that night without punishment, I would have certainly been pleased, but I would not have been forgiven. Only when we understand the great depth of someone's offense and the great cost of reconciliation can we then offer forgiveness that is biblical and genuine. Only then do we understand the enormous grace portrayed in God's Word to us: "I will remember their sin no more" (Jer 31:34). This is the grace given to each of us in Christ and this is the kind of grace we must offer others.

Forgiven so that I can forgive (even that grumpy officer),

Matt Haste