“We can extraordinarily love because we are extraordinarily loved. We can extraordinarily forgive because we are extraordinarily forgiven.”- June Hunt
June Hunt continues Chapter 4 of How to Forgive by looking at five key factors we know about forgiveness. The first two factors will be discussed today.
1. Forgiveness brings life, not death. Christ brought forgiveness and freedom, the gift of grace. Adherence to a strict code of sacrifices no longer was necessary. Ms. Hunt cites D. L. Moody’s distinction between law and grace:
“When Moses was in Egypt to punish Pharaoh, he turned the waters into blood. When Christ was on earth he turned the water into wine. That’s the difference between law and grace. The law says, ‘Kill him’; grace says ‘Forgive him.’ Law says, ‘Condemn him; Grace says ‘Love him.’ . . . I would a thousand times rather be under grace than under the law.”
Before Christ, June points out, forgiveness was not permanent. Blood sacrifices had to be repeated. The forgiveness Christ gives to believers is free, complete, and irreversible.
2. Forgiveness is ongoing and endless. June emphasizes that God’s forgiveness has no timetable and no expiration date. The timeless ingredients of God’s forgiveness are grace and love. In Psalm 100:5 we read: “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Although many people place limits on how many times they will forgive someone, God’s willingness to forgive never ends.
Today’s question: What does it mean to you that your are extraordinarily loved and extraordinarily forgiven? Please share.
Coming Monday: the new Short Meditation, “Like little children”
Tomorrow’s blog: “The fruit of forgiveness”
