Forgiveness and Love

I was driving around listening to the radio trying to ignore the screaming toddler in the backseat when I was reminded (from the guy on the radio of course) about Jesus at the cross saying "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

When you take time to really think about this act of grace, love and mercy… it completely brings you to your knees. Here is the Son of God asking for forgiveness for those murdering him. His mercy reached out to those willing to kill God. If there was a scale of sin, I'm pretty sure killing God would be at the top of all sin.

And yet in his love he says 'forgive them'. I can't help but wonder… how much we misunderstand grace and love. On the one hand, I agree and believe that Christ in us produces good fruit, and yet WAY too often we still live out a works oriented theology, never fully receiving and relying on his abundant love and mercy. We can never earn his love and no one is worthy of it, yet he gives it absolutely free of charge! To his own executioners even.

I can't help but think… do I forgive like Christ? Do I love like Christ? Take it a step farther, do I forgive and love like God the Father? Think about it! His only son was killed! It's also pretty common for us to view Christ as the loving one and God the Father as the wrathful one. Christ himself said that if we know Him we will know the Father (John 14:7). That means the love of Christ is the same love poured out by the Father.

Man I hope someone else is blown away by this…
Ephesians 3:17b-19

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."