The Legacy of Forgiveness
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” - Revelation, 21:3-5
After reading my essay The Heart of Forgiveness, a few people shared a reaction that I was not fully anticipating – that although they understood and respected the overall theme, they would continue to forgive people for their transgressions - but there was no way that they would forget those transgressions. My initial thought was that they actually did not understand the point of the essay: from a Biblical perspective, Jesus has set the pre-requisite of receiving God’s forgiveness for our sins: namely, that we follow God’s example of forgiveness by freely forgiving each other and forgiving each other in a way as if the transgression never occurred. God provides each of us that seek His forgiveness a completely clean slate. God erases our sins from the board and tosses them into the sea of forgetfulness. This is God’s standard for forgiveness that He in turn expects us to extend to one another. It is this power of forgiveness that enabled Corrie ten Boom to forgive the Nazi prison guard who tortured and tormented her and her sister –to the point of her sister’s death (see my essay The Heart of Forgiveness).
Forgiving and forgetting is a whole-hearted form of forgiveness that leads to reconciliation; forgiving and retaining the memory is a half-hearted form of forgiveness that prevents reconciliation.
In this essay, we will examine the legacy of forgiveness to further illustrate the essential need to forgive one another as God forgives us our trespasses. The key to understanding this legacy is found in the scripture quote above: there is a final accounting for those who die in Christ - a final review and assessment of our earthly life - that Jesus will conduct with each of us as individuals. (Note: To be clear, this form of review is exclusively for the believer – the individual who has died having reconciled through faith with Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior. For those who have not died in Christ – the non-believer – the Scriptures indicate that there is a different experience, and that is not a topic for this essay.)
I. Tears in Heaven
Revelation 21:4 states that God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” What is the source of these tears? It is the collection of all our hurts, fears, disappointments, failures, pain, heartaches, sorrows, etc. – both that we have received from others and those that we have rendered to others throughout our lifetime. In short, it is the totality of the selfish thoughts, words, and deeds that are part of the human experience that each of us share in, whether as the selfish doer or the recipient of another selfish doer. These encompass both the sins of commission as well as the sins of omission. As harsh as this confrontation may initially sound on first reflection, the focus of this personal accounting that every believer will share with Jesus should be on the three results of this final encounter with our earthly self before we transform into our eternal self:
Jesus wipes away every tear
There will be no more death, sorrow, crying and pain
God makes everything new
The purpose of this encounter is not to make us feel bad or to beat us up or diminish us before a vindictive and angry God; no, not at all. The very act of “wiping away every tear” is a term of total endearment – a consoling and loving act from a heavenly Father who is giving us assurance. This assurance is that despite the trials and tribulations and shortcomings of our life on earth, He is there – He has always been there – to make things right in a way that only an omniscient God can. How does He make it right? By removing the stain of our guilt and remorse and regret and hurt; by putting an end to all death, sorrow, crying and pain; and by making everything – our minds, hearts, souls, spirits, and yes, bodies – all brand new, for the rest of eternity – by completing the transformation of our character to be like that of His Son, Jesus. And rewarding our faith and trust in Him by having us share an eternity with Him in heaven filled with – you guessed it – life, joy, laughter and health.
Eternity in heaven will be the ultimate celebration of life, love and freedom – a perfect summer day at a family gathering – a family picnic filled with food, drinking, music, singing, dancing, laughter, playfulness and delight – where there is no sunset, although all eyes will be fixed upon the Son.
Question is, who are the family members that will be present?
II. The Invitation: Cost and Price of Admission
Before we consider the guest list, we must first consider the cost for such an elaborate celebration. Why is that relevant to a discussion on forgiveness? Because we need to consider the tendency of our human nature to assign relative values to our conceptualization of sin. We as humans are prone to list transgressions in order of “not so bad, to bad, to really bad, to horribly bad, to just the worst, to unforgivable.” On a human level, we believe there is a hierarchy to human transgressions, and in connection with that hierarchy, a corresponding list of punishments that need to be fulfilled in order to make up for each of those transgressions. You pay your debt for that particular transgression, and everything is even.
In God’s eyes, all sin has the same effect and consequence: it denies God’s sovereignty, placing us above God, and ultimately separates us from Him. All of our sins have the same result: we are disconnected from God. Whether one is a car thief, a bank robber, a murderer, an adulterer, a fornicator, a tax cheat, a liar, an animal abuser, a child molester, a blasphemer, a child that dishonors his parents, a false witness - whatever the sin – God states all of these transgressions alienates us from Him. A sinner who performs any (or all) of these sins is separated from Him.
How then, do we as sinners, repay a sin debt to God? Truth be told, we can’t. We do not have the capacity to make up for our sins, nor we do have the capacity to refrain from continually sinning as we live our lives.
But God has made provision for our sin debt to be paid - in full - past, present and future. And that provision is through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Specifically, through the death and resurrection of Jesus: His death on the cross, being scourged and crucified and dying; and then rising from the dead three days later. By this single act of love, God has provided for the redemption of sinful man by substituting Jesus in our place on that cross. According to the Scriptures, “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). Truth be told, we deserve the pain and suffering that Jesus experienced on that cross, but that would be our just reward for our sinful and rebellious nature against God; it would not justify us or sanctify us or give us any claim to eternal life.
The claim we have to eternal life is only through the gift that God has provided for our benefit: a right to claim forgiveness of our sins by virtue that Jesus paid for our sin debt by accepting the burden of dying on the cross for our sins. Jesus, the perfect Son of God who is without sin, died for our sins so that we may have eternal life. If we acknowledge our sins, ask God’s forgiveness based on the sacrifice that Jesus made for all who believe in Him, then God will forgive us and reconcile us to Him.
So then, are we to understand that all of our, sin, no matter how heinous or horrific, is forgivable and covered by the death and resurrection of Jesus? Yes! All sins, no matter how terrible and inhumane, are forgiven for those who put their faith and trust in Jesus.
To be clear, as the Scriptures state, all have sinned, and all fall short of the glory of God. Our sinful nature is capable of the most destructive and evil and hateful behaviors in all of the universe – and it is not that our sins are not so great, for they are (and a great source of sorrow to God – most importantly because our sin separates us from Him, our heavenly Father who truly loves each of us); but, the sacrifice and triumph of the blood of the cross that Jesus spilled by laying down His life for us – that sacrifice is so much greater than all the sins, of all humanity, throughout all history, combined!
It has been said that getting what we deserve is justice; not getting what we deserve is mercy; and getting what we don’t deserve is grace. That is one of the key messages of the price Jesus paid on that cross.
III. The Legacy of Forgiveness: Who will be in heaven?
It has been said you will have three surprises in heaven: one, you will be surprised who is there; two, you will be surprised who is not there; and three, you will be surprised that you are there!
Apart from the heavenly host, who will be in heaven? Redeemed sinners galore. Heaven is not for perfect people – heaven is for forgiven people - all those who have put their faith and trust in God – all the people who acknowledged their sins and asked God to be forgiven of those sins.
The Scriptures state that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). There is no hierarchy of sin in God’s view, with respect to the power of redemption. All sin can be forgiven because Christ paid the price for all our sins - past, present and future. As stated above, it is not that our sins are not so great, it is that the power and sacrifice and price that Jesus paid on that cross is so much greater.
Referring back to Corrie ten Boom’s interaction with the former Nazi guard that stood before her, his hand extended, the question that he posed to her echoing in her ears, in her brain, jogging the memories of the torture and torment and ultimate death that her sister experienced due to this man’s actions, not to mention her own pain and suffering due to this man’s heinous behavior:
“I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein…will you forgive me?”
The former guard’s words contain a summary of the reality of any believer’s presence in heaven:
He acknowledged his sins, he repented, and he has asked for forgiveness from God.
He is a believer who is forgiven by God.
He will be in heaven (by virtue of his faith and trust in God)
He will be in heaven with his victims (of those who also put their faith and trust In God)
The reality of heaven is that the repentant sinner, including those who were the victimizers of the victims, will be present. Any person who was guilty of being an adulterer, embezzler, thief, liar, murderer, rapist, child molester, cheat, swindler, abuser, etc., but who repented and asked for God’s forgiveness, will have the same right to be in heaven as any of their victims, who are also saved by the blood of the cross.
Our human impulse is to question this: how can this be? How can people who have sinned so heinously against others, how could they be in heaven? Especially alongside their victims? This doesn’t seem right, it doesn’t seem fair, it doesn’t seem just! Sure, I understand forgiveness but am I supposed to just forget about all the pain and hurt, the humiliation, the indignities, the suffering and sorrow? All the tears and weeping? Forgive and forget it all?
Now we have come full circle to the standard of God’s forgiveness and His actions as described in Revelation 21:3-5. God’s forgiveness is such that He forgives us as if the sins we commit never happened – He not only forgives them, He also forgets them. God as our Father holds this degree of forgiveness as the example of how He expects each of us as brothers and sisters to forgive one another. As for the tears that are forged from the memory – whether as victim or victimizer – God personally wipes each tear away – He wipes away every memory connected with the death, the sorrow, the weeping and the pain – replacing it with the gracious and humble character of His Son Jesus – and making everything new…
The legacy of forgiveness is an eternity completely released from the burden of anger, despair, guilt, pride, regret, remorse, resentment, shame and sin. All these things will be forever gone. It is the legacy of freedom only found in the love and peace and mercy provided by an all-gracious and forgiving God.
