Waste

Not even a single second of His love was denied to them – for God’s forgiveness is perfect and immediate.

Crucifixion (Grunewald)

The other day I was watching a movie on television.  It was not a Christian movie or even a very good movie.  Mostly it was forgettable.  But I have remembered one thing from that movie ever since I watched it.

At the time I was watching that movie I was grappling with something that had truly upset me.  I was terribly upset about a harm that was committed against me and as a result of that I was spending a lot of my time during the day speaking silently to my Beloved asking Him for the next steps that He wanted me to take.  You see, I was very hurt and very angry, and if I were left to my own devices and my own will, I certainly would have made decisions that would have displeased Our Lord.  And knowing my own weakness – and my own inability to control myself – I spent a LOT of time during that period thinking about and talking to God about what He would want me to do and He would want me to act.

During the course of the movie I was watching there was a scene where the protagonist’s father had acted irresponsibly and selfishly, and as a result of that, the girl was upset and hurt and angry with him.  And her friend in the movie told her to forgive him and forgive him quickly.  After all, you are going to forgive him anyway, so why waste any more time than necessary in not forgiving him…?

And that resonated with me in that moment.  It seemed to me that God was instructing me in the same way…

Forgive the person and forgive them quickly.  To achieve Heaven, I must “forgive those who trespass against us”, because that is how I am asking the Father to forgive me.  And that means that I must be ready to forgive and to forgive immediately.

You see, when Christ was criticised by the Pharisees, He was most often criticised for befriending tax collectors and sinners.  And I have been thinking about that too.  For when Christ befriended them, He did not befriend them and say, please continue as you were and do not repent or change your ways.  Instead, I would like you to keep sinning just as you were and hang out with me and no problem at all.  Rather, Christ said, come and repent.  Change your ways.  Ask God for forgiveness and then come and be my friend RIGHT NOW – do not waste a moment.  Christ did not wait to see if they would “keep up the good work” before He befriended them.  He forgave entirely and immediately and without hesitation or pause.  He gave them the benefit of the doubt and allowed them into His LOVE without wasting a single moment.

And THAT is what is so amazing about those tax collectors and sinners…  Because after they were forgiven, God accepted them without any waste.  Not even a single second of His love was denied to them – for God’s forgiveness is perfect and immediate.

And I have been thinking about that today, for it seems to me that that is what TRUE forgiveness really is…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.