Forgive a Wretch - Like Me?

During a Sunday morning communion service, the pianist played a simple but moving rendition of “Amazing Grace.” I silently sang along, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.”

As I partook of the bread and cup that communion morning, I thought, If Jesus could die to forgive a wretch like me, with all my imperfections and failures, how could I refuse to forgive another wretch? Scriptures tell us of the holy God who stooped down from Heaven to forgive us: "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" (Psalm 130:3). No one had sinned against me as grievously as I had sinned against Jesus.

Perhaps this very truth is what Jesus had in mind in His conversation with his disciples. For when Peter asked, “How many times do I have to forgive? Seven?” Jesus responded, “No, but seventy times seven.” In other words, stop counting and keep forgiving!

Peter learned this lesson well after Jesus rose from the dead. The angel at the tomb sent a message through the women who gathered there, “Go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him, as He said to you” (Mark 16:7). Peter was singled out for reassurance because Jesus was extending him forgiveness despite his betrayal of the Savior. The apostle later wrote, “Above all, love each other deeply because love covers a multitude [a mountain] of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

No Easy Task

After a lifetime of practice, sadly, we grow comfortable with our own transgressions and minimize them while we often use a magnifying glass to inspect the offenses of others, especially those with whom we have conflict. Scripture never encourages us to put another person under such scrutiny nor judge their short-comings and failures. To focus only on another’s flaws and to overlook all that is good and wonderful about that person is to commit a tragic mistake. It is certainly not a way to increase our love for one another.

Jesus’ choice of twelve disciples illustrates this principle of harmony. Several fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and a traitor represented part of this diverse group, which proved a test case for fellowship. These men with disparate personalities, significant flaws, and varying gifts had to show patience and love for each other. The process required them to learn to cover mountains of irritating faults with divine love. This was no easy task. However, Jesus expected these men to accept each other despite their frailties. After all, they witnessed His boundless compassion and selflessness for three years.

In our daily lives, it’s no easy task either! Others will disappoint, insult, hurt, and betray us—even those in our closest circles. Ultimately, the kind of love that brings about forgiveness and harmony only comes from walking with Jesus as we learn His Word and then obey it. He is Love personified. The long-suffering type of love that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13 cannot be practiced unless there is a situation or someone with which to be patient, to be kind, to suffer long and to forget repeated wrongs. Jesus also instructs us, “Treat others as you want to be treated.”

A Cross Bearing Life

Jesus spoke often of His coming death and the cross His disciples would also need to carry if they were to follow His difficult path. Charles Spurgeon wrote:

Our blessed Lord had to endure at its worst the deceit and faithlessness of a

favored disciple (Peter); let us not marvel when we are called to tread the road

which is marked by his pierced feet.[i]

The blood-stained trail His wounded feet leave for us becomes our daunting challenge: “This is the way, you walk in it”(Isaiah 30:21). Do we really imagine that forgiveness, which was so costly to Jesus, will not be costly to us as well?

This principle was illustrated when one of our young family members had an unpleasant conflict with a coworker. Her intention was to confront this individual through an angry email. As my husband and I discussed the situation with her, we encouraged her to offer mercy instead of judgment (James 2:13). Could she respond with a softer answer, a gentler approach which might de-escalate the situation?

By setting aside her right to be outraged at his unjust treatment, she sent him an email with the intent of reconciliation, not confrontation. The following day, she felt amazed at how God had intervened. Her coworker, in tears, had put his arm around her, thanking her for her forgiveness and understanding, an act and attitude uncharacteristic of him. By relinquishing her desire to retaliate, she was able to extend grace and mercy to this man.

Revelation on a Mountainside

Max Lucado illustrates this beautifully as he relates a story about Ulrich Zwingli, a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, who became entangled in a dispute with theologian Martin Luther. Zwingli, at a loss for what to do, discovered a solution one morning while observing two goats on the side of a Swiss mountain. He watched as they faced off, head-to-head on a narrow path, one ascending, the other descending:

They met, then backed up, heads lowered as if to lunge at one another. Then a

wonderful thing happened. The ascending goat lay down on the path and

allowed the other goat to step over his back. The animal then arose and

continued to climb to the top. Zwingli observed that the goat made it higher

because he was willing to bend lower.[ii]

To yield in lowly submission, to give ourselves away selflessly can be costly, maybe even sacrificial, especially when we have been wronged, but that’s what Jesus did for us as He bore our sins on the Cross. He calls us to also lay down our lives for one another. Sometimes, in humility we must also lay down our right to be right, our right to win the argument, our right to feel morally superior.

Jesus continually extends His grace and mercy to those who are His forgiven children, something we did nothing to deserve. Who suffers long and has more patience and grace with us than our Lord? We go to Him, often multiple times a day, as our struggle continues with some besetting sin for which we must ask repeated forgiveness. In the same way, extending forgiveness becomes a gift of mercy offered by one grace-filled wretch to another. How then can we not offer that same undeserved grace, mercy, and longsuffering to other sinners, other wretches like ourselves?

[i]Spurgeon, C.H. The Treasury of David, Volume III(Passmore & Alabaster Edition, Pilgrim Publications, 1983), 19. [ii]Lucado, Max. Grace for the Moment, Volume II. (J. Countryman, Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2006), 231.

A Personal Note: Please forgive the lapse in my communication since my last blog post in October 2021. I experienced a very difficult Covid virus illness and recovery. I am thankful to report I am almost completely recovered and glad to be writing again.