There aren't many things that make me angry. However, on a weekly basis I find myself fed up, frustrated and, dare I say it, angry with buses.
Yes, buses are my one weakness. Almost without fail, I turn up at the bus station at just past 8:30 in the morning, and a bus is supposed to come by 8:40. Whenever that bus is late (like it was this morning), I can feel the bile rise in my throat as I rant and rave at Them – the bus drivers, the bus company, and anyone else who might be responsible – in my head, even once the bus turns up (late) and I arrive at work (late).
The real reason I'm so frustrated is not that the bus service is not delivering what it promises on the timetable, that the bus has made me late for work, or even that the bus has made a whole lot of people late for work, school or uni. No, I am frustrated because I forced myself to get out of bed at 7:30, rushed around getting ready for work, walked very fast to get there on time, and could have had an extra 15 minutes in bed because the bus is 20 minutes late!
So when I get to the second request of the Lord's prayer, 'forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against us', it gets me thinking. Why does God tie forgiveness for us with forgiveness from us? More than that, why is the way I forgive linked to the way I'm forgiven ('as' is better translated 'just as' or 'just like')? Isn't Christ dying to allow me to be forgiven enough?
But with a little more exploration, I discovered I was missing the point. Just like the first request in the Lord's prayer, this request is communal – it is 'us' who forgive and are forgiven. 2 Corinthians 5 clearly communicates the communal nature of Christ's sacrifice:
All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (vs. 18-19)
Jesus, in dying to pay for each of our sins, reconciled us to God. But we are now called to carry that reconciliation to the world, so that everyone might be reconciled to God. The Fall fractured human relationships as well as the Creator-creation relationship: Adam and Eve laid blame on one another, Cain killed Abel, and I hate the buses! Christ's sacrifice mends the Creator-creation relationship so that community relationships can be restored. Forgiveness of those around us is a part of the sacrificial work of Christ!
So I say to my bus 'I forgive you, but don't be late again'. Or maybe, I get on my high horse and say 'I forgive you even though you don't deserve it'. Or perhaps 'I forgive you because I am a martyr'. Or even 'I forgive you but there's no way I'll be able to talk to you ever again'...
Just for the record, I don’t usually talk to my bus! However, it does illustrate the way our sinful natures likes to complicate things somewhat. Forgiveness has many different forms here in the human world. It can be out of arrogance or false humility, or it can be loaded with conditions or bitterness. But by connecting the forgiveness God gives us to our forgiveness of others, Jesus redefines forgiveness as unconditional, in humility and with true love – forgiveness in the same character as the Father’s forgiveness. Philippians 2 gives some insight into this definition:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross! (vs. 5-8)
Christ stepped down from the right hand of the Father and took up an attitude of humility and servitude to us, who had sinned so grievously against Him! And He wasn't merely humbled by death. The phrase 'even death on a cross' reveals that Christ was also humiliated: the cross was the most degrading death available at the hands of the Romans. All of this to forgive His sinful people.
So to take up the message of reconciliation as given to us through Christ, we also take up Christ's definition of forgiveness: a forgiveness which has no care for my status, my pride or my concerns; a forgiveness that is prepared to go as far as humiliation and still remain complete, unconditional and freely given.
Why? Because Christ's glory is reflected in His people when they carry the cross He bore and seek to forgive one another as deeply as He has forgiven them. Because the more we forgive those around us, the more people begin to see the reconciliation work of Christ around them and in them. Because we have been forgiven more deeply than we can fathom for crimes greater than can ever be committed against us.
Jesus, teach me the character Your forgiveness – it’s quality and it’s depth. Replace my many definitions of forgiveness with Your Godly definition, and help me to live out a life of reconciliation, carrying forward the mission You gave me when You forgave me and came to live in me. I pray that I, and the worldwide body of Christ, would grasp the importance of forgiveness to restore community as You originally designed it to be. Through our work of reconciliation carried out in Your power, let Your glory shine brighter and stronger in this fractured and fragmented world, bringing healing and life to those who are living in brokenness and death. And glory be to You for Your incredible work on the cross, which took me as I was, forgave me, and made me Your child! Amen
