Monday Thought -- October 24, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

David’s son, Absalom, killed his half-brother Amnon because Amnon had raped Absalom’s sister.  Absalom then fled from Jerusalem and hid lest he be caught and executed for his crime.  After some time a woman came to David to plead with him to allow Absalom to return and to forgive him.  She said to David, "Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God?  When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son?  Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die.  But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.” (2 Samuel 14:13-14)

God’s forgiving spirit is the perfect example of the forgiveness we should be willing to show to others.  No one deserves God’s forgiveness.  What we deserve is for God to take away our life because of the sins we have committed.  But that is not God’s plan.  God’s plan is a plan of reconciliation, a plan to restore those who have broken covenant with Him by their sin.  He does not hold our sins against us, but has devised a way to wipe the slate clean.

Paul reminded the Romans, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

God’s marvelous grace is seen in the sacrifice of Jesus.  He didn’t wait until we pled for forgiveness to offer His sacrifice.  He didn’t wait until we had somehow earned forgiveness before He provided it.  While we were still totally estranged from God by our unrighteousness, Jesus paid the price of reconciliation and forgiveness.

It’s human nature to continue to hold a wrong against the person who committed it.  It seems like the right thing to do.  They must be made to feel sorry for their sin.  They must be made to pay for their sin.

But aren’t you glad that God doesn’t do that with us!

It was time for David to be willing to forgive his son and be reconciled to him.  Is it time for you to do the same toward someone in your life?

His, by Grace,

Steve