The eye-witness accounts of the early disciples recorded what they understood as foundational principles, laid out by the extraordinary Rabbi from Nazareth, of what being a Christ-follower was about. The gospels and the letters were their attempt to help shape the character of the early church lived in a religious and secular world. The experiences of those believers trying to live out the core of Jesus’ message, resulted in success as well as failure in terms of getting it right practically. At times, the Jerusalem church and, as the Gospel spread out from Jerusalem, the geographically different congregations of believers too, sometimes saw things in the same way and sometimes they did not.
One thing that did unite them was the conviction that the coming of Jesus was the culmination of a single story that straddled history. A story of a merciful God who had been faithful to His people, a people chosen to reflect God’s character to the rest of the world but who, repeatedly, had failed miserably to do so. The coming of the Messiah continued the story of God’s goodness pursuing all humankind with extraordinary mercy.
When the Hebrew prophets interceded for the errant Jewish people, they invoked God’s character, even whilst recognizing that the frequent disastrous fate of the people of God was nothing more than their behaviour deserved.
Listen to us O God. Look at us and see the trouble we are in and the sufferings of the city that bears your Name. We are praying to you because you are merciful, not because we have done right. Lord, hear us, Lord, forgive us, Lord, listen to us and act. In order that everyone will know that you are God, do not delay. (Dan.9:18)
Forgiveness is integral to Love. In the greatest example of the cost of true Love, in the midst of extreme physical and psychological pain with His last breath on the Cross, Jesus demonstrated the merciful nature of God.
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”
Jesus’ example here reinforced the inter-connected place that Forgiveness has, in our relationship with God and in our relationships with each other. Remember his words of instruction on how to pray;-“Forgive us our debts as (or in the same manner) we forgive our debtors.” (Matt.6:12)
Keeping faith with those who let us down takes humility, courage, patient endurance, and love which includes a steely determination to forgive – none of which come easily to any of us but which God expects of us as we deny ourselves to follow Christ. Paul, in the panoply of the noble attributes attributed to those born of the Spirit of God, adds long-suffering in Ephesians 4. It is all these traits which the Holy Spirit wants to form in us so we can demonstrate the Be-Attitudes of Jesus - even when our natural inclination may be to do the opposite.
Let’s pray:
We praise you compassionate and Holy God that Your mercies never end; we thank you for Your Forgiveness exemplified when Justice and Mercy met at the Cross.
Help us to trust Your hand to shape the clay of our character, even in the midst of hurt or misunderstanding, so we can live without bitterness.
Mould us to be worthy vessels of Your Love so the healing power of Your Forgiveness will flow out of us and may this be our eye-witness account of the power of the Name of Christ we bear. Amen.
Elisabeth Sweeney-Smith
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