Forgiveness Part I: The relevance of forgiveness

I

have had the privilege of sitting in a Sunday school class with Steve Polen, a gifted teacher who fills in when our regular teacher (who is also a gifted communicator!!) is away. This particular series of lessons was so good, I wanted to share it with our readers. I thanked Steve Sunday night and asked for his permission to post this on the blog, and he was thrilled, too, to share it with our readers, and sent me the notes.

I’m breaking it up into smaller sections with Rich’s help, so you can meditate on it a bit at a time. There’s so much here for further study and thought. I’d love to hear your response to this material, so please share your thoughts.

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Why forgiveness is relevant

Forgiveness is important because it removes a barrier to fulfilling several things which God wants to work in us:

• the ability of the Holy Spirit to express thanks to God through us (1 Thess. 5:18)
• the ability of the Holy Spirit to express agape love through us (John 15:17)
• Born-again believers are the only place agape can be found on earth! (John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:10-14)
• Man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires. (James 1:20)
• The ability of a believer to “see” spiritually (1 John 2:9-11)

Unforgiveness is	a thankfulness blocker,
	a love blocker,
	a spiritual vision blocker!

When Forgiveness is relevant

Forgiveness is needed when I have been hurt (offended) or harmed (damaged).

Sometimes forgiveness is necessary when I fail to be able to get what I need from someone, but usually forgiveness is most relevant when I suffer some kind of a loss (often from some injury and/or injustice):

A Father’s Love

There’s a story of a Spanish father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.” On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, p. 13

1. Tangible loss—loss of physical “goods”
   i.e., pertains to the observable
2. Intangible loss—loss of emotional “goods”
   i.e., pertains to the soul

In both the tangible and the intangible realms, the “causes” of a loss can be:

• the attitudes or actions of others (Acts 27:9-26)
• the attitudes or actions of myself (2 Chr. 16:7-9; 2 Sam. 12:1-14)
• the sovereign action of God (Lam 3:37-38; Isa. 45:7), ultimately for—
• our good (Rom. 8:28-30)
• chastening (correction) (Heb. 12:5-11)
• testing of our faith (1 Pet. 1:6-7)
• development of steadfastness (James 1:3-4)
• His glory (John 9:1-3; John 11:1-4, 40; Rom. 11:36)