The Freedom of Forgiveness
by Greg Laurie

When Leonardo da Vinci was painting The Last Supper, he quarreled with a fellow painter and was so outraged that he decided to depict the painter's face as that of Judas. As the great painter was thinking about how he should render the face of Christ, he experienced a mental blank. He couldn't bring himself to paint it. He realized that depicting Judas' face in the likeness of his enemy was holding him back.

So he went and made amends with the painter and afterward repainted the face of Judas in a nondescript way. Then, and only then, could he portray the face of Jesus in his painting.

As Christians, we will view certain things such as stealing, lying, or adultery as sin, while we somehow rationalize bitterness and unforgiveness in our lives. But we need to acknowledge that this too is sin.

Jesus taught that when we pray, we should say, "Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us" (Matthew 6:12 NLT).

I believe this verse is saying that if we know anything of the forgiveness of God, we should extend that same forgiveness to others. In other words, forgiven people should be forgiving people. Jesus constantly pressed the issue of forgiving others in His teachings.

One of the most amazing examples of forgiveness is the story of Joseph from the Old Testament. When Joseph's brothers betrayed him and sold him as a slave, he suffered many hardships and setbacks.

Eventually, Joseph came into a powerful position where he could exact revenge on his brothers, even to the point of destroying their lives. Instead, he chose to forgive them, saying, "God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people" (Genesis 50:20 NLT).

How could Joseph make such a statement?

He knew that God is sovereign. Joseph knew that nothing ever comes into the life of a child of God that has not been approved by Him first. We forget sometimes that God is sovereign. When Satan came to attack God's servant, Job, he first had to ask permission. Although the Lord allowed hardship and difficulty in Job's life, God knew what he could handle. God knows what you can handle too.

He knew that God is good. Joseph knew that God is sovereign, but he also knew that God is good. The things that come into our lives by God's sovereignty are for our benefit as well as the benefit of others, which brings to mind Romans 8:28, which says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" (NLT).

This certainly is a promise we need to know. It is a promise we need to quote. But it is also a promise we need to understand.

There are times in my life when something bad, adverse, or unexpected has happened and God turned it around and something great came of it. Then there are other things that happen that, quite frankly, I don't fully understand.

Yes, all things work together for good, but maybe not in the way I would define "good." The way I define "good" is what makes me happy now, what makes my life better now, and what makes me experience a certain sense of well-being. If it is hard, difficult, or costs something, then I wonder, “How could that be good?

I am interested in what is temporarily good, while God is interested in what is eternally good. He is looking at the long-term to make you more like the Lord Jesus Himself.

We put all of our stock in our temporal comforts. But God looks at the big picture. There are going to be things in my life that I may not fully understand until I get to heaven. But I know that somehow, in God's mercy and grace, He will work them together for good.

It isn't easy to forgive. But I can look back on the setbacks I have had in life and see how God has turned them around. He can do the same for you. We can't control our circumstances, but we can control the way we react to them. Choose to forgive. You will be glad you did.

Saturday, March 15, 2008