“It Is Finished”
It’s been a little bit since my last blog post. This week I’d like to talk about forgiveness. There are many things that happen in life that can anger us and cause divisions. I remember many years ago that someone had crashed their car into the front of our church fence and planter. I stood out in the rain at night trying to render aid to the victims. The car was totalled, and one of the passengers broke their leg. I knew the insurance company had spent a lot of money on that claim. Interestingly enough they chose not to pay our small $150 claim to repair the fence that the car crashed into. I was incensed at the insurance company. How could they do that? They later reconsidered and paid the claim after further communication with them. But why did they have to make things so difficult? Why did they have to make me so mad. Why didn’t they just do the right thing the first time? Their actions negatively affected my emotional and spiritual well-being for a while. That’s what this kind of pain can do.
We run into situations like that all the time where people offend and hurt us. The questions is what do we do with those situations and the feelings that come with it. If we’re not careful, those feelings of anger can grow into unforgiveness and bitterness. Over time bitterness can rule over us and change our personality for the worse. Part of our healing is learning how to forgive those who have harmed and offended us. If we can’t do that, we will remain “stuck” in our uncomfortable position.
Some of Jesus’ first words on the cross were “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” The people Jesus was forgiving were those who were driving nails through His hands and feet, the ones who had mercilessly beaten Him, who were mocking Him on the cross, the religious leaders who had falsely accused Him and sentenced Him to death, and Pilate who washed His hands of the matter and turned Jesus over to be crucified. These were the people Jesus was forgiving. He came to save us by forgiving us of all of our sins. At the end of His journey on the cross He cried out “It is Finished.” This comes from the Greek word “tetelestai” meaning the debt is paid in full. This word comes from the root Greek word “teleo” meaning to complete, to finish, to bring to the end. After being persecuted and beaten Jesus forgave those who had hurt Him by paying for our sins through His death on the cross.
So how do you forgive? What is forgiveness? 2 words in the Greek New Testament are translated to forgive. The word “xaridzomai” which comes from the word “xaris” meaning grace. In other words, forgiveness involves our giving someone grace or favor that they don’t deserve. The second word which is found more often is the Greek word “aphiami” meaning to send away. When Jesus was on the cross and asked the Father to forgive these people, He used this word. When we forgive others, we are simply sending the matter away into God’s hands. We are not getting “even” or “retaliating” we are simply sending the matter into God’s hands and letting Him decide how to handle the matter. I’ll speak more about forgiveness in my next blog and answer questions like, “If I forgive that person am I saying that what they did to me was perfectly OK?” Or “Am I supposed to forgive and forget?”
So, are you stressed and upset because someone has hurt you, offended you, or taken advantage of you? If you’re not sure, could you be in the same room with your offender and feel like everything is fine, or would you sense that bitterness and unforgiveness? Send it away to God, let God handle it. Give Him your heavy burdens, that’s what He came to do. Let Him take that bitterness and unforgiveness away. He finished the job on the cross, now let Him finish the work in your life.
Sincerely,
Pastor Steve VanAmburg
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