Lesson learned in the Prodigal son about forgiveness
Visiting an Old Story and Seeing a Simple Message Luke 15:11
The simple things in life are the best, good friends, good conversation, perhaps a good glass of wine....We all seek to have simple and not complicated lives. The simplest truths of the Scriptures are the most comforting and at the same time most challenging. In this reading there is grace, love and forgiveness from the Father to the wayward son , and the journey of that son to the home he should have never left by coming to himself. There is also a dark picture of the elder son who did not think the younger son deserved to be forgiven. Today I want to focus on one thing in this story---the picture and lessons of forgiveness and grace shown by the Father to the repentant younger son. What does forgiveness look like ? Why should we forgive? Are we to forgive, or be like the elder son who "was angry , and would not go in" ( 15:28)
Why should we forgive others? Why should we show compassion? We say it every Lord's Day and in the prayers of the day , " Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us." Luke 11: 4 The word forgive is the greek word apophemi which means lit. to send away from .
"President Lincoln had an early political rival named Edwin Stanton. He called Lincoln the original gorilla. When Lincoln was elected President he chose Stanton to be his secretary of war because he believed he was the best man for the job. At Lincoln’s funeral Stanton said, “There lies the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen.”
President Lincoln had learned not to take insults personally." source http://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/the-best-man-for-the-job
We forgive because we must as new people in Christ, and we should not carry the angers, hurts and assaults of others to our graves. We should carry God's grace alone at the moment of our passing into His world forever--- not the sins of others. We can as Klimes said acknowledge the anger and hurt caused by others and their specific offenses. But we should bar revenge and any thought of inflicting harm to the offender as Klimes goes on to say.
How do we forgive? We are not the Father in the parable/story and it is hard for us to show such compassion to one who has so clearly flaunted the ways of God and done his sin so openly. But that is what grace is, showing compassion to the one who does not deserve it. Romans 5:8 says," But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
We should acknowledge the hurt first at least to ourselves even if the other person does not . Usually that is a difficult step getting them to do that. Why do people hurt and try to control others? Is it that they have experienced some deep hurt in their own lives that they cannot understand or deal with ?
The father saw the younger son returning , " but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Luke 15:20 This is a hard step for some of us to take in letting go of hurts even if the other person does not acknowledge them. This does not mean forgetting them. We can never do that, but we can act as though the offence did not happen in how we treat the other person. That can only happen by grace.
We should say that forgiveness is a step just as we have been hurt caused pain. Forgiving is healing, and applying a balm to the pain just as in medical facilities. We must take the step of forgiveness with those who have offended and hurt us, and not just say, " God will take care of it."
In conclusion, we hear the sayings of some of the ancient fathers who were quite aware of this need of forgiveness:"
He that demands mercy, and shows none ruins the bridge over which he himself is to pass. Thomas Adams
A man may as well go to hell for not forgiving as for not believing. Thomas Watson
He shed tears for those that shed His blood. Thomas Watson.
The simple things in life are the best, good friends, good conversation, perhaps a good glass of wine....We all seek to have simple and not complicated lives. The simplest truths of the Scriptures are the most comforting and at the same time most challenging. In this reading there is grace, love and forgiveness from the Father to the wayward son , and the journey of that son to the home he should have never left by coming to himself. There is also a dark picture of the elder son who did not think the younger son deserved to be forgiven. Today I want to focus on one thing in this story---the picture and lessons of forgiveness and grace shown by the Father to the repentant younger son. What does forgiveness look like ? Why should we forgive? Are we to forgive, or be like the elder son who "was angry , and would not go in" ( 15:28)
Why should we forgive others? Why should we show compassion? We say it every Lord's Day and in the prayers of the day , " Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us." Luke 11: 4 The word forgive is the greek word apophemi which means lit. to send away from .
"President Lincoln had an early political rival named Edwin Stanton. He called Lincoln the original gorilla. When Lincoln was elected President he chose Stanton to be his secretary of war because he believed he was the best man for the job. At Lincoln’s funeral Stanton said, “There lies the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen.”
President Lincoln had learned not to take insults personally." source http://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/the-best-man-for-the-job
We forgive because we must as new people in Christ, and we should not carry the angers, hurts and assaults of others to our graves. We should carry God's grace alone at the moment of our passing into His world forever--- not the sins of others. We can as Klimes said acknowledge the anger and hurt caused by others and their specific offenses. But we should bar revenge and any thought of inflicting harm to the offender as Klimes goes on to say.
How do we forgive? We are not the Father in the parable/story and it is hard for us to show such compassion to one who has so clearly flaunted the ways of God and done his sin so openly. But that is what grace is, showing compassion to the one who does not deserve it. Romans 5:8 says," But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
We should acknowledge the hurt first at least to ourselves even if the other person does not . Usually that is a difficult step getting them to do that. Why do people hurt and try to control others? Is it that they have experienced some deep hurt in their own lives that they cannot understand or deal with ?
The father saw the younger son returning , " but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Luke 15:20 This is a hard step for some of us to take in letting go of hurts even if the other person does not acknowledge them. This does not mean forgetting them. We can never do that, but we can act as though the offence did not happen in how we treat the other person. That can only happen by grace.
We should say that forgiveness is a step just as we have been hurt caused pain. Forgiving is healing, and applying a balm to the pain just as in medical facilities. We must take the step of forgiveness with those who have offended and hurt us, and not just say, " God will take care of it."
In conclusion, we hear the sayings of some of the ancient fathers who were quite aware of this need of forgiveness:"
He that demands mercy, and shows none ruins the bridge over which he himself is to pass. Thomas Adams
A man may as well go to hell for not forgiving as for not believing. Thomas Watson
He shed tears for those that shed His blood. Thomas Watson.
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