What Does Forgiveness Look Like?
To an Israel in captivity, God makes a promise through the prophet Jeremiah. It is a promise of better days to come, days when they will no longer be captives in a strange land. They or their children would be released and restored to the Promised Land and having accomplished this, God would once again make them into a great nation. The Messiah would come and that would signal a change in everything. Indeed God would forgive their sins and restore them to their privileged position as His special people. The watchword for today is from Jeremiah 31: 34 – I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.

When someone offends us, what do we do? Do we remain angry at them forever? Do we forgive and if we do, how do we move forward? Forgiveness by worldly standards, does not forget, does not condone, does not excuse and does not appease anger. Neither does the one being forgiven need to admit to the offense, ask for forgiveness, or decide to change. With us as Christians it is different. Our forgiveness is born out of repentance, being sorry for the wrong we have done, and making a commitment not to repeat this action. When we are sorry for our sins and approach God with contrite hearts, God responds with forgiveness through Christ. It’s not that our actions no longer deserve God’s anger, but that God in mercy choses to forgive us. We are encouraged to practice forgiveness in this way. Forgiveness lifts burdens from us and frees our hearts minds and souls to welcome new relationships in and through Christ. It renews and restores our faith in humanity through our faith in God. Psalm 86: 5 reminds us “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.” Forgiveness is not selective nor evasive.

Note that the text does not stop at forgiveness but continue to pledge God’s deliberate action of forgetting whatever we have been forgiven for. This is the forgiveness promised in Micah 7: 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Maybe the reminder from Psalm 103: 12 will resonate more with you: as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. When God forgives he restores us to where we were before we sinned and he repairs the relationship. When we forgive, we are challenged to be Christlike as we seek to restore broken relationships and renew our relationship with God. This frees us from carrying burdens of pain, anger, hurt and frustration that comes from unforgiveness. God through Christ is able to remove our burdens of unforgiveness and restore us to himself. This is what forgiveness looks like. May God lead us to pour out our situations of unforgiveness to him even as we seek God’s forgiveness in our lives. Amen.

Monday Reflection – October 04, 2021
Full Hundred

For they have turned their backs to me, and not their faces. But in the time of their trouble they say, “Come and save us!” Jeremiah 2:27

I recall learning this important gem while I was in high school – sow a thought, reap a deed; sow a deed, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny. I sincerely and deeply believe these words are true. Who we are and what we do begin with a thought in our minds. The reality is clear that when we sow good thoughts and nurture them, we form a good character and reap a blessed destiny. On the contrary, when we sow bad thoughts and such are nurtured, our character is bad and our destiny deserved. Admittedly, we have good and bad thoughts, but it is what we nurture and practice consistently that matters.  

In Jeremiah 2, the Weeping Prophet addresses Israel, a people whose sinful ways had become so astonishingly grave. They were rebellious and unashamed of their evil and corrupt ways. They were ungrateful for all God had done for them, and pursued idol gods with unrestraint. Israel had developed the habit of disobedience to God and this was clearly reflected in their character. God describes such behaviour as shameful.

In today’s text, God accuses His people of turning their backs to him and not their faces. I find this a very striking imagery with some serious lessons. I visualize the image of a human body with the face and back in the same direction. It is not a full turn, but one that depicts half-heartedness and lack of fulsome commitment. We should know that God accepts only all; nothing short of full commitment or none at all. God will not compete with idol gods, so that our yes to Him must be only to Him and to no one or nothing else. The sooner we learn this, the better for us. Many of us may think God is pleased with our commitment to Him without realizing that He is not, because our desires are also elsewhere. We get caught up with the material things of the world and with ourselves that are competing for our attention.

The imagery also conveys a deep sense of hypocrisy. The faces are turned to God as if to say, “It’s all about you God”, but the heart and desires are focused elsewhere. We should know that God knows all things, and nothing can be hidden from Him. We can’t trick God or play with God, for as someone said, “God ramp (play) ruff”. God demands truth and sincerity. The people of Israel did not turn their faces away from him because they wanted to call on God when they were in trouble, hoping that God will see the gravity of their situation imprinted on their faces and run to their rescue. God knows that His people would reject useless idolatry when the crises of life came, for they were of no help in the time of trouble. Yet in that day, God would be justified to ask: “Where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?”

God beckons to us everyday to reject the world and turn completely to Him. To give Him our full hundred and offer our best in service to Him. When we turn away, we should quickly and sincerely repent and commit to be better and do better. Let’s strive to live always to the glory of God.  

Jermaine Gibson