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Seeking the perspective of Jesus

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 NIV

The phone calls begin in the pre-dawn hours of the early summer morning around Mobile Bay, Alabama. One after another, each messenger proclaims excitedly “Jubilee!” The calls go out until all in the network have been notified and then, those who are able or willing to arise from their beds, take buckets or old washtubs to the shoreline along the bay. These excited seafood gatherers wade into the water and literally pick up blue crabs, flounder, shrimp, and other bottom dweller creatures from the sea. The Seafood Jubilee is a unique condition that occurs most summers in the bay when all the complex conditions work together. As a result of low oxygen, warm temperatures, and a gentle east wind, the sea creatures are driven to shore for a few hours. By sunrise, the phenomenon is over and for those who gathered the bounty, a seafood feast will be in the making. During the frantic, fun-filled hours of gathering fresh seafood, there are no territorial issues, such as “favorite honey holes”, that most fishermen keep for themselves. There is no hoarding of seafood, for there is plenty to go around. Neighbors help one another fill their containers, and those who can’t join in the harvest still receive the benefit of being invited to the feast afterward. Little wonder why this event is called “Jubilee,” for this word means “celebration.” Think about it. There is one time every year that fishermen of all economic circumstances can gather food without a boat or fishing equipment. It is a gift from the sea for those who are willing to gather it! It is free, and it's a blessing! That’s “Jubilee.”

As I begin a new year, I’ve been thinking a lot about Jubilee lately. It’s not the kind that occurs on Mobile Bay, although I am ready to join it anytime that I am there and it happens. No, I’ve been thinking more about the origin of "Jubilee" and the kind of Jubilee created by God to communicate the importance and requirement of forgiveness. The seafood Jubilee is a gift from God, as it feeds many people who couldn’t afford a good seafood meal. It is free and it is abundant. The Biblical Jubilee is much broader in implication. (Do yourself a favor and read about it in Leviticus 25 - 27) The bottom line is that the Year of Jubilee happened every 50 years, which was a “once in a lifetime” experience. Its climax was after the great Day of Atonement when trumpets were sounded throughout the land of Israel, and two amazing things took place. All Hebrews slaves were set free, and all land returned to its original owner or owner's family. Can you imagine this? Think about it in today’s economy, with the burden that many people are carrying today. How would you like all of your debts to be forgiven and any mortgaged family property with a lien to suddenly be lien-free? Would there not be a national celebration that breaks out beyond anything we have ever seen? So, why would God provide such a gift to the Hebrew people? Like many of us today, some of the Hebrews incurred so much debt that they couldn’t pay it. In order to borrow money, they had to “sell” themselves and become bondservants. To pay their debts meant working it off with their owners. This was not to be a permanent or legacy condition that would pass to the next generation. Therefore, in the Year of Jubilee, these Hebrew slaves would be freed and all property with liens restored clear and free to the original property owners. A celebration throughout the land would be enjoyed, and everyone would start out on equal footing again. There is nothing like forgiveness received to give new life and perspective. Giving forgiveness is another story. You see, Jubilee required that forgiveness be given, for it was the law. If there were any people that might not feel so good about Jubilee during that time, it was likely the slave owners or bankers- for the requirement of giving this forgiveness was forced upon them. However, if this same slave owner had once been a slave himself who had been set free because of Jubilee, then he would see things differently and likely join in the celebration. Little wonder that Jubilee ended many years ago. The law has never been able to change the human heart, and mankind has always tried to figure out ways to get around it … that is until Jesus came on the scene.

When Jesus gave us “The Lord’s Prayer” in the above verse, He communicated the necessity and requirement of forgiveness, just like the Father did to Moses when he wrote Leviticus. In His prayer, Jesus was speaking to you and me about the “liens” we have on someone’s debt to us. Now you and I know that the “debts” Jesus was implying are offenses that have created in us bitterness toward another person? We have been hurt or offended or betrayed or neglected by someone and we have a bad feeling toward the person. There could be many things that we harbor in our hearts against someone that in our own mind justifies our unforgiveness. What we do not realize as Christians is that the very thing that keeps a person enslaved to the debt they owe us also keeps us enslaved to our own debt to God. Even though He has declared Jubilee in our own life, unless we declare Jubilee to those in debt to us, we remain in slavery to our own debt. Look at what Jesus said only a few sentences later after He gave us The Lord’s Prayer:

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6: 14-15

Now, I am well aware that I write this devotional to my Christian brothers who, like me, have been saved by the grace of God, and all past, present, and future sins are forgiven. The atonement and the completed work of Christ are precisely what has purchased our souls and redeemed us from the impossible requirement of living a perfect life. Jesus did this for us and as a result, I do not think that an unrepented sin will hinder His salvation for us. But, I do believe that this un-repentance will hinder our fellowship with Him and the intimacy with Him that we desire to have with Him. I have seen first-hand the cause and effect of unforgiveness and how it will eat away at a person. At the end of their life, unforgiveness creates an ill-tempered, slandering, bitter person that no one wants to be around. Like Jesus said, “the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” There is just no way around it. If we store up in ourselves unforgiveness, it will eventually be expressed in some time and way that will bring shame to us and dishonor to our King. Jesus wants better for you and me and if we are smart, we will want better for ourselves.

What is the best way to get into the heart of Jubilee and in the spirit of forgiveness? As I said, I think the best way is to have once been a slave ourselves and to be completely forgiven for our debts. This creates a thankful heart and this thankfulness should overflow the banks of our lives to others who have debts to us. Can anyone deny that what we have been forgiven by God is far greater than what has been done against us? In Leviticus, the Law dictated what needs to be done, but it didn’t empower the person to do it. Therefore, it was unsuccessful in changing the hearts of the Hebrews. Because of Christ, we now operate under grace, and grace empowers us to do the supernatural. The Law could not change the heart, but the heart can be changed by the grace that has been freely given to us. Just like the seafood Jubilee on Mobile Bay where all should share and no one hoard, we should not hoard the forgiveness given to us. We must share it freely, for it has been freely given to us. Let us together declare this as a year of Jubilee and cancel all debts on those toward whom we have unforgiveness. Let’s destroy all our liens held in the unforgiveness section of our hearts, and let’s join in the celebration that forgiveness both given and received brings to us. Let us no longer deny ourselves the treasure that awaits us on the other side of forgiveness.