A BRIEF LOOK AT SOME OF THE KEY WORDS IN THE BIBLE
Bible Corner - No. 14 FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness in the Bible is closely linked with the idea of ‘sending away' or 'putting out of sight' and is admirably expressed in Psalm 103: 12, where God is praised for removing the sins of his people 'as far as the east is from the west'.
When personal relationships go wrong it is as if an invisible barrier rises up between those involved. Forgiveness is the art of removing this barrier without leaving any lingering resentment. In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland a mysterious Cheshire Cat keeps appearing and disappearing - always wearing a grin! Eventually Alice persuades it to make a final exit but it does so in a strange way, disappearing very slowly and leaving behind its mocking grin. Some forms of forgiveness can be like that. If A forgives B for betraying their friendship in some way and then adds '...but things can never be the same again between us' he may have got rid of the cat but the mocking grin remains.
It is not easy to be a good forgiver
The forgiveness of God is of a different order, as illustrated in the Parable of the lost Son (Luke 15: 11-32). The father runs to meet the returning scapegrace and embraces him, then he has him dressed in the robe of honour and presented with the ring of authority and the shoes that signify a free man - all symbolising the completeness of his forgiveness. And what made it all possible? The father's enduring love and the lost son's 'coming to his senses' (verse 17) in that change of mind and intention that we call repentance.
Howard Rady
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