Philemon 8:10-18, Forgiveness vs. rejection (5)

f)    Here are 6 principles that tell us what it means to forgive.  Perhaps you can relate these to a specific situation in life where you are finding it hard to extend forgiveness.

i)      Forgiveness involves a positive attitude toward the offense, rather than a negative attitude toward the offender. 

ii)   Forgiveness views the offender as a tool of God.  An illustration of this might be seen in 2 Sam. 16:11-12 when Shimei, a relative of King Saul, was cursing David and throwing stones at him as he fled from Absalom.  Abishai wanted to kill Shimei.  Why not?  Revenge would have felt good as they were seemingly on the losing end of things against Absalom.  But remember: David had never wronged King Saul or his descendents.  He would not kill Saul when he had the chance.  He treated Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, with mercy.  So David preferred to put it in God’s hands, thinking that God would see would do His work in the matter.

iii)            Forgiveness looks at the wounds of the offender as God’s way of drawing attention to the offender’s needs.  These first three principles are built on a fundamental truth in Scripture: God is always at work.  It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).  He makes all things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).  This must, therefore, include the harms done to us by others. 

iv) Forgiveness recognizes that bitterness is assuming a right we don’t have.  This is another truth that is emphasized in Rom. 12:1-21. 

v)    Forgiveness realizes that the offender has already begun rec3iving the consequences of his offenses.  God is the righteous Judge of all the earth.  He does not call us to judge those who sin against us.  Like Christ, who did not revile those who reproached Him, we are called to seek the lost.  It is quite possible that a great door will open into the heart of someone who treats us shamefully if we are Christ to them.

vi) Forgiveness involves cooperating with God in the offender’s life.  It is our privilege to pray for and bless those who revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake (Mt. 5:11; Lk. 6:28). 

May I encourage you to memorize Eph. 4:32 and to meditate on the context (4:29-32).  Today’s reading from Philemon provides another great account of the call to forgiveness, even when the “law is on our side.”  May we see God’s work in our own lives and in those around us as we walk in the way of Christ.