Over the past week I have had a number of discussions with people about forgiveness. I guess its something we all hope to receive … but sometimes find it hard to offer to others.

Forgiveness is very easy to talk or even to write about, but we need the power of the Holy Spirit to actually forgive. For the Christian, forgiveness is not optional. It is mandatory.

On Wednesday evening we reflected on a story of the experience of Sydney pastor, Tim Costello, at his inner city church. Quite unexpectedly, while at communion, one person spoke about his shock that he would be accepted at the altar though he was a very great sinner… the man (still at the altar) then gave a very graphic account of his misdemeanors. Other people were also moved to individual confession. With one such confession, a number of communicants were moved to gather around the “sinner” to offer forgiveness and to pray for healing from a particular “addiction.”

It got me wondering how people would react on Sunday, if the same sort of thing happened. I suspect that there would be a certain amount of discomfort. But, after the initial shock, I wonder, would we have the grace to offer healing and forgiveness in Jesus name? Would we still be able to look at each other with love? Or would the revelations change the way we perceive one another?

Jesus ate and drank with sinners… he knew their failings, and, if he didn’t, someone was bound to tell him. Regardless, he persisted in reaching out to those who were shunned by the religious leaders of the time. How would we feel if the undisclosed sins our a parish friends were suddenly made public?

A young member of the congregation made the comment that it is easier (less “scary”) to confess to God than it is to confess to a parent. I suspect that it might be the case with most of us. We make a general confession, at our services, but no one around us is likely to know our individual sins. We keep our “darker” side to ourselves, rarely trusting our whole identity to others, perhaps out of pride, but partly because, while we are pretty sure that God will forgive us, we are not so sure about our Christian brothers and sisters.

We are all sinners in need of forgives, but we are also, by the grace of our calling into fellowship with Jesus called to forgive others.

Henry Ward Beecher said, ‘We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive.’ Go ahead – stretch out that hand of forgiveness to someone today. Write that letter, make that call, as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you. And always remember the words of Corrie Ten Boom: ‘Forgiveness is not an emotion. It’s an act of your will.’ To be forgiving can be a wonderful act of encouragement, not just for the person forgiven, but also for yourself.

A local pastor recently wrote “To be forgiving can be a wonderful act of encouragement, not just for the person forgiven, but also for yourself. To refuse to, or to simply not forgive, is to be actively involved in building a cage around yourself from which forgiveness is the only way of escape.”

May you know the healing power of forgiveness this week.

Many Blessings

Rev Shan