We Need Scandalous Forgivenessናሙና

The Scandal Of Forgiveness

When conversations about forgiveness come up, some people quickly begin to think about that one thing.

“No one could ever forgive me if they knew about that.”

Secrets, regrets, and mistakes never shared with anyone else may fill one’s mind as soon as they hear the word forgiveness. 

Maybe you can relate to those people, or maybe you’re more like a person who flips the expectation on others: 

“I’ll forgive a lot of stuff, but I will never forgive that.”

You, like most people, probably relate a little bit to both of these comments because we tend to think of forgiveness as a conditional response. If someone did something really bad, we obviously have a tougher time forgiving them. Forgiveness often depends on how well the person seeking forgiveness can make right what they did wrong. 

Christ’s forgiveness is much more scandalous.

He forgives anyone who is looking for it, no matter what they’ve done. He hung on a cross to forgive every liar, cheater, murderer, or any other sinner that comes to him. In fact, Luke tells us that as the soldiers mocked and beat Jesus, Jesus asks His father to forgive them “for they know not what they do”(Luke 23:34).

As one of the two criminals besides Jesus begins to mock him, the other defends Him and asks Christ to remember Him. Jesus assures that man that he will join Christ in paradise. That criminal was on the cross because he deserved it. He was a bad guy who lived a bad life doing bad things, and yet Jesus invites Him into Heaven simple because He asked and trusted in Jesus. The criminal would not have time in his life to make amends or fix all that he did wrong. He simply was forgiven. 

As you meditate on these scriptures today, take a moment to praise the Lord for His scandalous forgiveness. Pray David’s words in the Psalm. Recognize that you, like every other person on earth, did not deserve God’s love forgiveness, but he gives it anyway. Think about how you can extend that same grace to others and even to yourself.