Next to Abraham, Joseph is the most prominent character in the book of Genesis. One of the reasons for this is that in his life’s story there is more than the obedience to God’s word, particularly in relation to the promise of land and divine destiny which is accorded to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But there is also the demonstration of the most fundamental action that leads to the restoration of human relationships; a quality that does not dwell richly in the consciousness of unredeemed human, but is the cornerstone of our relationship with God and subsequently is supposed to be the cornerstone of all our human relationships.
As Christians our responsibility to forgive lies with two places; firstly with God and secondly with the person who has aggrieved us in some way. God commands that his children forgive (Matt 18:35; Luke 6:37). This means firstly that we withdraw all rights and feelings of vengeance for the wrong that has been done to us. In the withdrawal we are not saying, “What was done was alright,” instead we are placing the issue in God’s hands so that the matter can be dealt with justly. We recognise our need for God’s intervention into our affairs so that he will put to ‘rights’ what needs to be put to ‘rights’ according to His Wisdom.
Secondly we need to acknowledge that unforgiveness on our part often has no effect of the person or situation with which we are struggling. Invariably the only person we hurt with our unforgiveness is ourselves and our loving God does not want us to live with such emotional pain that robs us of our joy in life. When we forgive we allow the Holy Spirit to touch us at the very core of our being and the pain that the memory causes is healed and we can then be free to remember our past without being dragged back in an emotional net that stirs up all the feelings as if the event happened yesterday.
However, a word of caution needs to be noted as well. Our forgiveness of someone’s wrongs does not precipitate receiving forgiveness. For example, God the Father, in Christ forgave humanity of all our sins, but it is only those who receive or accept the forgiveness are the ones who benefit from the forgiveness given. Therefore it is possible for us to forgive someone who will not acknowledge any wrongdoing because their acceptance of our forgiveness lies with them and their obedience to God; it is also therefore possible to forgive people who have since died. Our extending forgiveness lies with us and our obedience to God. Therefore whether a person receives our forgiveness or not does not interfere with our necessity to forgive.
Most of us accumulate hurts through our life and sometimes we find that the memory of them lingers and brings torment into our lives. When this happens it is time for us to look to God and ask for his help to enable us to forgive. Forgiveness is like soil rich in nutrients that assists a plant to grow well, unforgiveness, however, is like soil that has been so overworked, it yields nothing. If we want to grow in the love of God, then we must grow in our ability to forgive.
Be encouraged to pray for hurting people throughout the week, asking God to help them to forgive.
Blessings, David
