Midweek Meditation: "Four Principles of Forgiveness"

Why do we find it hard to forgive? Based on 1 Corinthians 13:5 which reminds us that love does not keep record of wrongs, it is a helpful biblical principle to be disciplined in NOT bringing up the offense in the future. True forgiveness means we learn to move on without letting the past become a hindrance.

This is a helpful list of four promises taken from Ken Sande's book, "The Peacemaker."

1) "I will not dwell on this incident."
2) "I will not bring up this incident again and use it against you."
3) "I will not talk to others about this incident."
4) "I will not let this incident stand between us or hinder our personal relationship."

[Ken Sande, The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004, p209]

Why No Revival?

We all want to grow. We like to see our Church be vibrant. We enjoy being among people who are energetic, passionate, and happy. Unfortunately, a vibrant, passionate, happy Church is not as common as we have hoped. Why? Erwin Lutzer presents this as one reason:

"To be candid: I believe genuine reconciliation to be the stuff of revival; because once our souls are unclogged of bitterness and hurt, the Spirit of God has freedom to move and heal. The body of Christ today includes countless bitter, hurting, and wounded people - bound by the power of a personal offense. Yet where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty - and liberty brings revival." (Erwin Lutzer, When You've Been Wronged, Chicago: IL: Moody Publishers, 2007, 13)

Remember the words of Jesus. Falsehood binds. Truth frees. Falsehood deceives toward wrong ways. Truth receives the right way. Falsehood pretends. Truth faces reality.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."  (John 8:34-36)

Do you want to be in a Church that is enslaved by sinful behaviour, or liberated by God's grace? May we seek the latter, to give of our selves. Let go of any arrogance. Seek forgiveness by first learning to forgive one another.

conrade

A Simplistic and False Dichotomy

Currently, there is a video that has gone viral. It hypes up the age-old maxim of "Religion is Bad, while Jesus is good." Made by a young online evangelist called Jeff Bethke, it contrasts and compare the traditional understanding of religion with the desired brand of Jesus faith. This is remarkably similar to the "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual" movement. According to the Christian Post, the video has generated more than 66000 comments on the Youtube page alone. As of today, it has surpassed the 10000 mark to reach 102,167 comments.



A) Some Online Responses

Many responses have been posted on social media like Facebook and on blogs. Bloggers like Elizabeth Esther highlights 8 erroneous claims in the video, calling it a 'thinly disguised anti-Catholicism.' Others like Morgan Guyton prefers to probe the reasons behind Bethke's rant. Unwittingly, Guyton too performs a dichotomy. Instead of religion-is-bad-and-jesus-is-good argument, Guyton elevates 'what-jesus-has-done' over 'what we believe.' My friend, Joshua calls the dichotomy as plain 'stupid'

Other notable responses include two postings by Kevin deYoung. The first is a disagreement that triggers a brief exchange of emails between Bethke and DeYoung. The second is a followup that is more reconciliatory. DeYoung labels several parts of the video that are 'unhelpful and misleading.' He takes pains to dissect the statements to point out the mixed bag of both helpful and unhelpful stuff splashed out unabasedly on the video. The crux of DeYoung's argument is that one should not try to hype up a religion-free 'Jesus' at the expense of downplaying religion. Otherwise there will not be much 'Jesus left.'

The underlying tone is that of a cautious handshake. While trying to correct each other, there is a tone of reserved self-control on both sides. Whether we call it humility or speaking the truth in love, in a social media era, it is important to recognize the limits of e-communications. A video can speak a thousand words. The clarifying emails and comments may contribute a few more words. It is the face to face conversations that build bridges much clearer and more lovingly.

B) A Simplistic Portrayal

Videos like this is to me an overly simplistic portrayal of faith. While it appeals initially as a rhetoric or a creative rant about doing something right in a culture that contains some things wrong, it fizzles out when we probe a little deeper.

Some of my friends at Regent call this video a simplistic portrayal of a false dichotomy. Simplistic because people do not understand the contexts behind the historical events of wars and culture of Jesus. False dichotomy because the Bible does not condemn but redeems religion. See how James talks about 'true religion.'

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:26-27)

Will Jesus hate such a 'religion?' What if the position that is advocated by Bethke adopts the very religious flavour that they are arguing against? If I were to refer to 'Jesus-only-ism' as the anti-thesis of religion, we get all kinds of confusing flavours. Flavours like:

• Hypocrisy: Can your version of 'loving Jesus' only-ism become a religion in itself?
• Church: Can your version of Jesus only-ism become an institution too?
• Tradition and Doctrine: Can your 'Jesus only-ism, and all things 'love' become a dogmatic statement in itself?
• Religion: Are you debunking all religion just because of a few bad apples?
• Love: What makes one think that Jesus only-ism is able to hold both truth and love at the same time?

C) We Need Both

The truth is, both traditional religion and Jesus only-ism needs each other to clarify, to convict, and to co-operate in the realm of truth and speaking the truth in love. The moment we do a dissection in such a simplistic way, we are effectively planting the seeds of our brand of belief into a dogma. We need each other. We need to utilize our strengths to help our communities. At the same time, we need to let others speak and encourage us in our weaknesses. False dichotomies are unhelpful, and often too simplistic for any good. 

May our Church and various Christian communities learn to accept one another's differences without the need to be dogmatic about our various positions. Who knows? How Christians treat one another on the social media stage is how the world at large is seeing how Christians love one another. We can love one another without having to compel ourselves to compromise our own stand. Likewise, we can speak the truth in love, trusting the Holy Spirit to help us to have the humility to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to let ourselves be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.

conrade

Forgiveness - Doing what is right

This devotional is powerful. It deals with something that all of humanity needs most: Forgiveness. It is taken from the Navigators College ministry website here. All credit goes there.

DOING WHAT IS RIGHT 

"For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men." - 2 Corinthians 8:21

On September 13, 1995, Mary Lambright was killed by a semi-tractor trailer driven by Curtis Peterson. She was an Amish woman and the horse-drawn buggy she was driving was struck by Peterson's truck. She left behind her husband Mahlon and eleven children. Following his wife's death, Lambright was offered by Peterson's insurance company a wrongful death settlement totaling $212,418. This was money for Lambright, his wife's funeral expenses and the children. Mahlon Lambright went before Wisconsin's Dunn County Circuit Court and asked the judge to drop the petition of wrongful death settlement against Peterson.


"I admire him," said David Richie, who was appointed Guardian Ad Litem for nine of the family's 11 children. He said Mahlon doesn't want the settlement "for the simple fact that he felt the money would cause more problems than it would solve."


Lambright feared his children would not appreciate Amish traditions when they grew up if he took the money, and he pointed out to the court that members of the Amish community helped them by providing food and clothing and having an auction.


Emanuel Miller, a spokesman for the Amish community said, "It shows that he's not seeking revenge, or he would have accepted the money. Our Bible says revenge is not for us."


Doing what is right brings joy to both God and man. Do you find it painful to do "the right thing"? Today in prayer, thank Christ that He receives the glory when we do what is right in His name.


"I prefer to do right and get no thanks rather than to do wrong and get no punishment." - Marcus Cato

God's Word: "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men." - Romans 14:17-18

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My Comments

For many of us, we will be more shocked about the story of how the hurt can forgive so generously. It is unthinkable. For some of us, we will be appalled and the seemingly lack of justice. I can understand anyone who is angry at the driver. The moment one starts to do mental gymnastics with possibilities and punishments, the road of bitterness that comes with a refusal to forgive turns into a highway to perdition and self-destruction.

For any of us who thinks it is impossible, have we forgotten Jesus' words in Luke 18:2?

Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

c

Book Review: "Amish Grace"

TITLE: AMISH GRACE - how forgiveness transcended tragedy
AUTHORS: Donald B Kraybill, Steven M Nolt, and David L Weaver-Zercher
PUBLISHER: San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.

This is an extraordinary book that gives the world a valuable insight into the Amish community. What the world sees as impossible, the Amish demonstrates as possible. What the world views as out of this world, the Amish proves it in a matter of fact way. What the world deems as extraordinary, the Amish dishes them out effortlessly in their ordinary lives.

What the Book is About
The authors, led by an expert in Amish studies, Donald Kraybill, has given the world a precious insight into the daily lives, beliefs, practices, spirituality and background to the intentional level of forgiveness after a major tragedy. On October 2nd, 2006, the Amish community in Pennsylvania experienced their own version of 9/11. A shooting spree by a disturbed gunman, led to 5 deaths, 5 critically injured, and evoked multitudes of emotional shockwaves. What is shocking is not the shooting incident. The world is astonished by the speed, the consistency, the earnestness and the honesty of forgiveness extended to the family of the gunman, who killed himself eventually.