forgiveness :: part two

This post has been long overdue...

A few weeks ago I posted some thoughts on the topic of forgiveness.  You can read that post by clicking here.  And in that post I talk about a number of things that forgiveness is not.  For example:

Forgiving is not excusing.


Forgiving is not a reunion or a reset to "the way things were."


Forgiving is not instantaneous.


Forgiving is not the wrong thing to do.


Forgiving is not forgetting.


It's here I should add another thing forgiving is not...forgiving is not the same as judging. 

Forgiveness implies that a judgment has already been rendered.  Think of it this way...in a United States courtroom, the offender / defendant goes through a trial process for a crime.  Both the prosecution and the defense teams present their best cases and cross-examine witnesses.  When both sides have "rested" their cases, a jury (or in some cases a judge) will deliberate and render a verdict.  The verdict of the case is stated and if the defendant is found guilty, then punishment is rendered.  At what point in the process is judgment given?  When the verdict is given, right?  Many people have fallen into the trap by believing that when we forgive someone for something they did to us that we render a verdict of "forgiven" or "not-forgiven."  But what we need to realize is that to forgive (or not to forgive) is not when the judgment (or verdict) is given, but when the punishment is carried out.

Forgiveness implies a guilty verdict, if you will.  "You did this to me and it hurt me...what you did was wrong."  That is a judgment statement.  "Right" and "wrong" statements are judgment values.  What forgiveness does is suspend punishment.

Forgiveness is surrendering your legitimate right to get even with the other person.  We can affirm that what they did to us was in fact "wrong," but in response to their wrongful action, we give up our right to get even.

As Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter have come and gone, I've been reflecting on the implications of forgiveness as I understand it in context of Jesus' mediating role between God and us.

In the court of God, we are all found "guilty" and deserving of death.  But because of...

Christ's work...
Christ's healing...
Christ's teaching...
Christ's faithfulness...
Christ's preaching...
Christ's obedience...
Christ's ultimate once and for all sacrifice on the cross...
Christ's shed blood...
Christ's three day descent...
Christ's RESURRECTION...
Christ's victory over death and violence and sin and Satan...

Because of all of these and more, even though God says "guilty" to all of humanity, for those who are in Christ, God surrendered his legitimate right to get even and says to us: "forgiven."

Guilty yet forgiven.

In the third and final installment on forgiveness, I'll share more about what forgiveness is and how next steps can be taken to forgive.