Today’s verse is from Ephesians 4:32 which says:
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
I heard a minister lead into a sermon on forgiveness with this humorous perspective. He said for people that we have serious disagreements with, what would happen if we just went around forgiving them without first making sure they knew how wrong they were? Since each of us is always right, it is our job to help others understand how wrong they are (for their own good, of course). Once they really understand the depths of their depravity and genuinely thank us for sharing this important wisdom with them, then we can at least begin thinking about forgiving them.
This was shared with the congregation as a joke but the reason it’s funny is because there’s a lot of truth in it. But I think deep down the issue is not about being right. I think the actual issue is that we don’t want to be hurt again. And, while it might come across as us trying to be right, our actual goal is to help them understand how they hurt us so it won’t happen again.
But I want to go a little deeper in this lesson and focus on a much more valuable solution that will allow us to skip the drama altogether. Consider these two scenarios:
- A two-year-old with a lollipop accidentally drops it and it cracks into many pieces. Their lollipop is gone and they are devastated. To that toddler, this is a huge deal, and they cry inconsolably.
- [It’s funny to think of a prince eating a lollipop but stick with me for a minute.] The same situation happens to a prince eating a lollipop, but he’s not sad in the least when he loses his treat. In fact, he barely thinks about it.
So why is this not a dramatic moment for the prince? It’s because he dropped it on the floor of the immaculate castle where he lives and where every one of his needs is provided for in abundance. To cry over a lollipop would require him to ignore all the opulent blessings that surround him. It would just be strange.
That brings us to a bonus verse of the day from John 10:10 which says:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance.”
The devil is constantly poking on us and trying to get us off track. He wants to steal our joy. He wants to take our mind off of God. He wants us to think that a “cracked lollipop” is a great reason to get upset and cry uncontrollably.
But you are a child of the King! You are royalty! When we allow squabbles to steal our joy and distract us from God’s love, the devil wins. But when we look around at our abundant life and have a heart of gratitude for our status as royalty, we can get back on God’s path. We can get back to living abundantly and sharing that spirit of abundance with others.
Questions:
- Do you agree that it’s easier to forgive someone AFTER they admit they were wrong? If so, would you say this counts as genuine forgiveness?
- Even though you are a child of this King, is it sometimes difficult for you to accept your royal status? If so, why?
- Why do you think God values forgiveness so highly?
- Do you think that the “cracked lollipop” approach might help us forgive others more easily?
- What are some of the blessings we might give up when we allow pettiness to distract us from abundance?
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