I forgive you
- Gary Fritsch
- Jun 19
- 2 min read
There is a well-known Christian folk hymn "They'll know we are Christians by our love". I am sure many of us could sing or hum it right now. I think of this song often, not because I love the tune (although its catchy), but because I think it is misunderstood.
They won't know we are Christians because we DO love, they will know we are Christians because of HOW we love. This 'how' can take on a number of forms - from Matthew 25's serving of the 'least of these', to the ultimate sacrificial love shown by Jesus on the cross, and the Apostles after Him. These are powerful examples of Christian loving, perhaps the one that is most accessible to us on a daily basis is this: forgiveness.
In Psalm 136, it says 'give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.' It then goes on to recount God's many deeds in saving his people Israel and then repeats the phrase 'his love endures forever.' In some translations, you will see another phrase repeated: 'his mercy endures forever.' Well which is it? It is both, the Hebrew word hesed refers specifically to the love of God and is best expressed as steadfast lovingkindness. This means that it is not conditioned on our behavior, our goodness, our worthiness. He forgives every misstep and loves us anyway.
This is the charge of the Christian. Loving in the face of difficulty, challenge, mistreatment, rudeness, betrayal, etc. The Gospel today makes this as clear as possible: "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." I don't know about you, but I have transgressions that need to be forgive - so I'll forgive or at least try. Forgiving is hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
The people that we have the very best relationships with are the ones who have forgiven us. Think about this today and perhaps for the next few days. Take stock of the forgiveness that is happening around you. Consider how you might show appreciation and support for those who have forgiven you, and think about how you can grow in your ability to forgive. Will you be known by your love?
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