Pure Forgiveness
Brace yourself this was meant to be a short status but turned into a book because there are those times where my brain is running full speed and i actually can process it on paper, or computer!
So today I realized that Jesus never said "BUT"... I am so guilty of praying for other people or situations but always reminding God of the hurt or disappointment they caused me, and i started thinking about that today...I guess the best way to put it is giving forgiveness without actually relinquishing my tight grasp on the situation and truly letting it go...
Today my brain was going a thousand miles a minute and i couldn't help but be brought back to the story of Jesus on the cross. I thought about the thief that hung there and the conversation that took place between two men- very different in every way...
I've read this many times and heard it over my life, but it's truly fascinating to me how at different seasons of my life, different things stand out. I've always heard about the thief who defended Jesus and acknowledged him to the other thief who was mocking him, and how Jesus tells him because he believes he will be in Paradise with him. It's a pretty common part of the crucifixion story if you grew up in church. However, at the age of 27, today, that story came to life to me in a much bigger way.
Matthew and Mark both make mention of the two thieves hanging beside Jesus and point out that they both hurled insults upon Jesus while he hung on the cross...they also both refer to the men as rebels or criminals. However, neither of these books make mention of the encounter between the one thief and Jesus.
" In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him."- (Matt.27:44)
"They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left...... Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him."(Mark 15:27,32)
"They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left...... Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him."(Mark 15:27,32)
Then you have John which only makes reference of there being two "others" hanging beside him and does not reference the insults at all. He also does not refer to them as criminals or thieves but 'others'.
"There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them." (John 19:18)
Hang in there... Im getting closer to landing the plane...Luke is the only gospel that mentions the account with the thief and Jesus...
"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 29:39-43)
I thought about my struggle in forgiving people and in doing that also looking at them and NOT seeing any of the past in them, but rather the hope and brightness of a brand new day. I have people and relationships in my life over the span of my 27 years that though they may be civil and restored today, in my mind i immediately remind myself of what caused the pain there one time before. But after hashing this out with God and diving into a story I've only skimmed the surface of so many times before, i realize I'm wrong for that.
When you think tomorrow, you can think the best in people even those who have hurt you and upset you, because tomorrow doesn't hold the mistakes and brokenness of today..that is grace...It's Jesus hanging on a cross beside a man who one minute or hour was insulting him and mocking him and the next was asking Jesus to see him differently. He was not weeping out of remorse of his actions but rather acting like a real man acknowledging in that moment the wrong was on him, not Jesus...period.
Grace, is Jesus looking over at him and INSTEAD of saying,
" yes, because you acknowledge the truth of who i am finally, after you have sat hear and mocked me and hurt me with your words as i hang here dying so you can live, yes you can go to heaven but just know your one profession does not make me forget the years of crime and the hours of insults i have had to sit here and listen to you say. Yes i forgive you but when you get to Heaven you're going to have to wear a bag over your face because every time i look at you I'm gonna think about all the horrible things you said to me when i was dying in anguish and not the ONE time you recognized who i am... and might i also point out that one time just happened to be seconds before you knew you were going to be breathing your last breath ."
NO, Jesus did not say that...his one response was simply one which acknowledged a past that never existed and a future that was just about to begin...
" “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
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