FORGIVENESS
Written by Steve Scroggs
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs his disciples to forgive, but adds an ademdum at the conclusion of the prayer, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”[1] With this statement Jesus made forgiveness, perhaps, the most important plank in his kingdom’s platform.
Later, He tells a story of a king who brings his servants into account. After the king forgives a flagrantly endebted servant, the forgiven servant turns around and puts one of his debtors into prison. When the king finds out, he brings the forgiven servant back into the court and delivers him to the tormentors until he paid all that was owed. Then Jesus said, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”[2] Forgiveness spoken with our words does not always come from our heart.
A beautiful middle-aged mother took a seat in my office, “I need your help to forgive my father.” I sensed the Lord’s compassion, “Well, you know what the scripture says?” She responded, “Yes… and I have said ‘I forgive you’ over and over. But, somehow the feelings of anger and rage, mixed with the pain of betrayal keep coming up inside me.” At that moment, I realized I needed wisdom. So I asked, “Do you want to tell me what happened to you?”
She sighed, “Ok, but, I want you to know I love my dad. But, when I was twelve years old my dad sexually molested me. This continued two times a week until I ran away when I was sixteen. Now, our relationship has been reasonably restored, and I have tried everything to let it go and forgive him.” Now I understand.
Her father; the one man whom God gave to establish her identity, inaugurate her acceptance, and institute a strong moral foundation for her family, lusted after her and used her to gratify his immoral desire. This trauma crushed her spirit, and left her to feel as if a black hole had sucked every sentiment of love away.
As she was sharing her heart, I began a conversation with God in the back of my mind, “Oh God, please help! The trite answers that everyone gives will not work in this situation. What do you want me to tell her?” Then the eternal small voice, “She needs a picture for her life that is bigger than herself.” During our talk, this conversation continued in my mind. “I agree Lord, but what picture would that be?”
Then he said, “Take out a piece of paper. I want you to draw a diagram and tell her a story. Write on the right side near the top, ‘Jehovah = I am that I am’ and tell her that ‘I am that I am is my nature, and that everything adds up in my universe.’” As I wrote this my hand went right under the I am that I am, and wrote 1+1=2, and then continued to write 2+2=4. Then he said, “Tell her, I am perfect, and I created everything perfect in its original state.”
He then said “Draw a triangle, representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as the originator of this plan, in the top left corner of the paper. Now, draw a short line about half way down from the left side of the paper.” As I talked, my hand moved as if I discerned automatically what to draw next. “On the line at the left side of the paper, draw two trees with two stick figure people under them.”
And then he said, “Now tell her, ‘Into this perfect environment, I planted a garden. But in the midst, I put the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then I put Adam in the garden and told him,’ …of every tree in the garden you may eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof thou shall surely die.”[3]
“Now, tell her that Adam and Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit. And when they acted in disobedience, they fell from the original state of perfection, to a state of legal separation, triggering death and the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, as an inherited consequence to every man woman and child to be born.”
As I described the fall, I drew a vertical line down to the bottom of the page, and drew two stick figures, lying down in death. Next, I drew a cloud with slash marks aimed at Adam and Eve, illustrating the anger of God that is required when a breach to His holiness is activated. This cloud looked like an explosion, and illustrated his all-consuming nature that cleanses as it consumes.
Then he said, "Tell her that in the moment of their decision, for the first time in earth's creation, everything did not add up in my universe. But everything must add up, and someone has to pay. Therefore, I was presented with two choices. (humanly speaking)
First, I could totally annihilate them; making them bear the full weight of my righteous anger. If I annihilate them, everything will add up in my universe again. This was my first choice, but I had another.
Second, I could take all that they deserved in judgment and death, anger and accusation, offence and betrayal ONTO MYSELF, and then take my holy requirement out on my Son on the cross.”
As I said this, my hand drew a circular line starting from the explosion of death in the left-hand section of the page; around to the top of the page right into the triangle I had drawn in the beginning. Next, I moved about two-thirds of the distance across the timeline, and drew a straight line on an angle from the triangle to the cross, representing where God put all that Adam and Eve deserved onto Jesus, “…to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousess of God in him.”[4]
Then he said, “When I chose this, Adam and Eve, and all of humanity was given grace and mercy to be lifted into life again; not because they deserved it, but because I loved them.” As I was saying these things, I drew a line from the cloud of death and judgment up to the timeline that was extended to the right of the page. Then, I drew the stick figures of Adam and Eve on the lifeline. He continued, “Now, in this state of grace they will be given opportunities to hear my story of salvation, see Jesus on the cross, and exercise their free-will to believe. If they choose to believe and receive, they will obtain eternal life and walk in forgiveness. But if they choose not to believe, they will die in unbelief, and follow the fallen angels into hell.”[5]
Tell her “I took her sin sin on myself. And now, everything adds up in my universe again. I paid what she could not.”
Then I said, “When you were in the place of utter annihilation, the Father took your offense on Himself, carried it to the cross and left it there. Will you take your father’s offences on yourself, carry them to the cross, and leave them there? This is how you can be, act, and rule like Him.” I then said, “Do you want your father to be condemned to hell forever?”
Then I saw the light of revelation in her eyes, as a stream of tears roll down her cheek. She whispered, “Thank you, I can forgive him now.” We prayed together, and she choose forgiveness from her heart.
The life we are called to live on earth is to be the exact representation of the Father. Offenses will come, people will betray us, and we must forgive them from the heart. This superior decision will cleanse our soul and release the power of the kingdom into the lives of others.
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