Berita NECF Newletters

Forgiveness Leads to Transformation

Forgiveness Leads to Transformation

Many people find it hard to accept that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is the only means of finding forgiveness for their sins.

The fact is that among Jesus' last words were, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" Luke 23:34. That explains why Christians have taken the observance of both Good Friday and Easter, celebrated recently on April 2-4, with deep gratitude.

The forgiveness our Lord demonstrated on the cross sets the example for His disciples to emulate.

As Christians, we need to resist the temptation to keep those who have sinned against us in an emotional penalty box, making them serve endless hard time for their offences. The act of forgiveness releases the emotional guilt they have to carry.

 

True forgiveness

Listen to what Jesus says in Luke 17:3- 4 "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent', forgive him."

Example: if I sin against you, there is only one way for me to get right with you, and that is for you to forgive me. Because sin is against God, the only way to get right with God is to receive forgiveness from Him.

But sometimes the nature of the offence and the attitude of the offender require a more direct response like, "I need to let you know how much you have hurt me. You need to know what this has done to our relationship. I feel that you have betrayed my trust."

Recently there were two incidents that led to public statements on forgiveness. The Senior Pastor of Metro Tabernacle Church that was fire-bombed said, "The church did not condone such acts but would forgive those responsible. We have a congregation of about 1,700 who are godly and forgiving." (The Star, Jan 9)

Kuala Lumpur Roman Catholic Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, when he received the public apology from the editors of Al Islam, said, "I accept the apology and no legal action will be taken against Al-Islam on this 'matter'."

Earlier on, he had said, "Forgiveness is in our blood. Everyday, we pray for God to forgive us, and for forgiveness for those who have sinned against us." (The Star, Mar 5)*

 

The role of forgiveness in nation building

Genuine reconciliation is something we long for at all levels, in our communities and in our personal lives. Most of all, we need God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness offer is comprehensive, complete and final.

The point is that sin incurs a debt that must be canceled or forgiven. The more aware we are of how much we've been forgiven, the more love we will have toward the one who cancels the debt.

That is where forgiveness transforms lives because it leads to genuine reconciliation at various levels of society. This is essential when a nation desires to build a caring society. It goes beyond tolerance because we have deliberately made the choice to accept modest sacrifices for a common good.

For Christians, Jesus is the only way to forgiveness because no one else has ever become sin for the world. God declares, "There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

 


* Two reporters from the Al Islam magazine had posed as Christians and took part in a Catholic Mass to probe allegations of Muslims being converted for their article in the May 2009 issue. They admitted to receiving Holy Communion and actually spitting the wafer out, an act Catholics consider desecration.



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