Forgive us our Debts

With the recent assassination of Osama Bin Laden, some of the first words we heard the President of the United States utter afterwards were "Justice has been done". Indeed. In the case of violence, the Old Testament law clearly states "an eye for an eye". However, for a lot of people, a quick bullet to the head will not have been enough for a man responsible for the deaths of thousands. No justice handed out could ever bring back their loved ones. For many people it is humanly impossible to forgive the crimes that have been committed against them.

Most people in our country have at least heard of the The Lord's Prayer. In this prayer are the memorable words "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors". The prayer is recorded by Matthew, one of Jesus' disciples. Matthew was an accountant, a tax collector. He knew a thing or two about keeping accounts and the legal right to collect debts! It is interesting to read that a wrong committed creates a debt that must be paid. That is what the justice system is all about. A man can "pay for his crimes" by going to prison. On a more personal level, if I hurt your feelings it is said that I "owe you an apology".

If I commit a big crime like murder that creates a big debt immediately. But over time, even a small wrong which creates only a small debt will build up to a great debt if it is repeated over and over again. This is especially true between family and friends who we spend a great deal of time with. Over a lifetime our debts can become so huge that we cannot repay them. No wonder people get divorced over what to others seem like very small matters! In another parable recorded in Matthew, Jesus told the story of a man with a great debt to the King. It is called the parable of the unmerciful servant. The man begged for mercy from the King and got it! But then the man went and threw one of his own debtors into prison until his much smaller debt could be paid. When the King found out he was furious and the man had to pay an even heavier price than in the first place! But more disturbingly Jesus said the same would happen to us if we refused to forgive others!

Why would Jesus say that? We do know that holding a grudge against someone eats us up inside. When we won't forgive because we want retribution, it is us who remain angry and without peace. If not for anybody but ourselves, we need to forgive!

But Jesus is saying more than that. He is saying that in fact we ourselves owe a great debt to God and to others, and that if we are a believer, we have been forgiven that debt through Jesus dying on the Cross for us. Therefore if we have been forgiven such a great debt, it is evil for us to hold on to others' debts to us.

And even more than that! How can we say we love God, if we refuse to love others? These are very strong words from Jesus! It is only possible to forgive someone if there is love in our hearts for that person. We need to see the person through Jesus' eyes. He died to forgive all our wrongs. That took an immeasurable amount of love on his part. We need to see the other person with love and compassion, perhaps we need to hear their story. But in some cases, people are evil and will never change. We need to remember that Jesus died on the Cross for everyone - he loves everyone.

Forgiveness pays the full price of every debt. Forgiveness costs the individual who has been wronged more than anyone else can say. God knows that. But to forgive is to be like God. To love like God loves. Does that mean that we don't need a justice system? Of course not! Was it wrong to execute Osama Bin Laden without trial. No, not by God's Law. But would the World be a different place if we could all learn to forgive like God has forgiven us?