Forgive us our debts
as we also have forgiven our debtors…
I think forgiveness is the centerpiece of Christian belief. Humanity, in the hands of Adam and Eve, fell into sin thus condemning us all to death. And just as Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden and covered their nakedness with leaves, we hide from God and try to cover our shame and guilt any way we can.
But then God sent Moses the law, the intent of which was holiness and purity—to pay for sins and remove shame and guilt. But each sin required a new sacrifice. God’s forgiveness in the Old Testament was a continual and active event administered by the Levites in the tabernacle, and then the temple.
But for those living after Jesus’s death on the cross, forgiveness is a once-and-for-all event. There is no need for another sacrifice. Jesus paid for the sins of humanity through his death on the cross; like the Israelites in the desert who had been bitten by snakes, we need only look to the cross and we will be forgiven.
Forgive us our debts…
But I don’t that’s the point of Jesus’s words. Jesus’s primary intention with the Lord’s Prayer isn’t that we would pray for the Father’s forgiveness, it’s that we would forgive. The most important word in this part of the Lord’s Prayer is the word “as.” We ask that the Father forgives us AS we forgive others. In other words, it seems that Jesus tells us that the Father’s forgiveness is dependent upon the forgiveness we offer to others.
Okay. So I just lost all the Calvinists, maybe everyone else; who knows. But if you are still with me, hear me out.
By Jesus placing the emphasis on us forgiving others it’s as if he was telling us to actually pray, “Father, let me forgive others in the same way you have forgiven me.” I know that isn’t what Jesus actually said, but it does point out an important issue. We need to forgive others; PERIOD. If there is no sin which will limit the Father’s offer of forgiveness to us, then there should be no sin which will limit our offer of forgiveness to others.
Has someone lied to you.
Has someone stolen from you?
Has someone undercut you at work and taken your job?
Has someone cut you off on the road?
Forgive them.
We can switch the form back to the original and read Jesus’s words this way, “Father, forgive me for lying to you, as I forgive others for lying to me.” You should forgive others every time they lie to you because the Father has forgiven you every time you lied to him. But not every sin is this easy. What about sins we would never commit?
Has someone killed a friend because they were driving drunk?
Has someone raped a friend?
Has someone been convicted of a felony?
Certainly, Jesus couldn’t mean those sorts of things. Since we would never do any of those things, then why should we offer forgiveness for them? Certainly, there has to be some type of sin for which forgiveness can’t be offered, right?
Right?
Well, if we really believe that God will forgive us of any sin, then we must believe that Jesus intends that we forgive other of any sin.
But that guy ruined my child’s life.
But that guy took away my spouse.
But that guy lied to me and never admitted it.
But that guy…
I wonder if Jesus, after he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” muttered under his breath, “But, Father, not that guy?”
If we really believe that God forgives us regardless of what we have done, then we must believe that means everyone…and every sin. And if that is true, then when Jesus tells his disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” then he means we must forgive others regardless of what they have done—whether to me or to others.
When Jesus ascended to heaven told his disciples to go and make disciples; he told them to tell the world about the Father’s forgiveness. He wanted his disciples to spread that message because not everyone knew of the Father’s forgiveness. I think this means two things.
Since Jesus was not willing to condemn the woman caught in adultery, then maybe we, as disciples of Jesus, ought to rethink the way in which we go about making disciples. Maybe spreading the truth of the Father’s forgiveness is better than casting judgment upon people’s sins. Remember when the condemned woman was brought to Jesus? Remember what he told the crowd who wanted to stone her? He said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” Do you remember what John wrote about the crowd after they heard Jesus’s words? He wrote, “But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones.” I think the older people walked away first because they had a lifetime to realize they were not perfect; they were sinful and not worthy to judge; they wanted forgiveness and mercy, not justice. In like manner, let us be the mouths of forgiveness, not of judgment.
Also, when we forgive someone, we should tell them. Merely forgiving them in our minds just doesn’t cut it. I suppose the Father could have had Jesus die in some remote location and resurrect him; no one would have to know, we could just be forgiven. But the Father wants us to know we are forgiven. He wants to tell us that he loves us. Like the father of the prodigal son, he wants to run to us and embrace us. And if the Father can do that for us—for all the sins we have committed—can we not do that for others?
Forgive us our debts
as we also have forgiven our debtors…
Read the Next Post: Lead us not into Temptation…
