There is this friend of mine who is maybe 10 years younger than I am. When I got to know him, he was just a kid. Now he is a Bible colleague student in America. We only got acquainted again last year due to a mission trip to Philippine under the same organization. During the 1st week, we didn’t really get to interact much as we were always moving in different stations. It was during the 2nd week when there were only 5 of us left that we once again rekindled the friendship that was left behind in the past. During that week of mission and fellowship, I will actually tease him at times with such a statement, “Oh… This is how you treat me after how I have taken care of you as an older brother!?!” To which he will reply, “Now you know how Jesus feels!” To this day, it has been a good illustration for me as and when I need to do any sharing at times. But do I really know how Jesus, the Greatest Forgiver of all time, felt then?
There at the cross after being betrayed; Left behind and all alone; Insulted and accused for what He had not done; Being spat at and slapped many times on the face; Whipped 39 times by the Roman whip; Being stripped of by the purple robe which was stick to the skin due to the blood by whipping that was dried; Having a crown of thorn pushed into the skull of His head; Having to carry the cross to the Calvary after all these; Nailed to the cross through the nerve slightly lower than the wrists that will send an electric shock to the whole body; Being hung there to suffered thirst and breathlessness; And continue to be mocked by perhaps even some of the people who had followed Him even though He was suffering for the sake of us all, yet He made the below statement:
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Luke 23:34
Within the week that has just passed, this has become a statement which I have come to realize that I might not have been to comprehend and grasp it completely. Even in the midst of the all above account that has taken place, Jesus still seeks the Father to pardon us of our ignorance and most importantly, our wrongdoings!
In the society of Singapore in which we have been well fed, filled with many comforts and conveniences, it is no surprise if people tend to take things or even people for granted. In addition to the technology of this age, miscommunications are frequent due to the increasing lack of ability to communicate. People are also communicating at a level of their own convenience or might even launch personal attacks via technology as it is so easy to do so. The truth of the fact is, as long as there is interaction with people, there is bound to be conflicts. These conflicts can be due to insensitivity, pride, indifference, self-centeredness, assumption etc. You name it, you have it!
Thus, though many appear to be good and well on the outside but are crying and hurting on the inside as the best ways to cause hurt is but through "WORDS". We are perhaps living in the highest rate of undisclosed insanity. The biggest root to mental illness is due to bitterness which is derived from an unforgiving spirit.
Forgiveness is so greatly needed in this time and age but there is a limit to the mere human forgiveness. It is only when we come to realization that all that we have went through is nothing compared to how much Jesus suffered and died for our sake, then we will only be able to forgive and let go of the heavy burdens of the past - A past which perhaps has been dragging us down with guilt, unhappiness and anger.
True forgiveness can only be attained from God. It is because the source of such forgiveness can only be found from the selfless sacrificing love from God. The Father who sent His son to die for all sins (wrongdoing). I reckon that if I were to be where my Saviour was at Calvary and to hear Him says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” I might have break down completely in tears. It is not purely because I'm forgiven but because of this LOVE which is beyond the limits of the outer space. This LOVE that generates True Forgiveness! It is because I know how much I'm forgiven, there is nothing for me to hold against as nothing can be compare with what He has went through for us!
The solution then to true forgiveness - Ask God to forgive you and ask God to let you see life in His light that you may also be able to forgive and let go!
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