for·give·ness [fer-giv-nis]:

How we define a word is often how we express its meaning in our lives. If I define love as a verb, as something completely selfless, devoting to serving and loving another, then I will love this way. However, if I use a softer definition, I might be inclined to say something like, "I love Dr Pepper." Now that is not so say that I selflessly devote myself to and serve Dr Pepper, but it's all in how I define the word. The same is true with another big word, big in meaning that is, and that's forgiveness. To grasp society's definition of the word, I looked up the definition on urbandictionary.com. It's an online dictionary for slang words with today's definitions provided by its users. Urban Dictionary has 6 definitions for Forgiveness one of which caught me by surprise at first...

"Allowing someone to think they are off the hook so you can toss their sins in their face over and over again later on."

...But then I realized, that is how we exercise forgiveness most of time, so I guess the definition isn't that far fetched. The good news is that we have another source for a definition of forgiveness. Matthew 18: 21-35 depicts a true definition of forgiveness. In this parable there are two slaves who both owe a debt. One debt is large and impossible to pay back. The master of this slave could have chosen to have the debtor thrown in prison, or his family could have been sold into slavery to help pay off the debt. It was hoped in those times that the debtor, while in prison, would sell off his land and possessions or that his relatives would pay the debt. If not, the debtor could remain in prison for life. But the master of this slave chooses to completely release the slave of his debt and to forgive him. Now in the Matthew 18 account, this same slave has a fellow slave who owes him a small debt, equal to about $100 dollars. Having received forgiveness of his debt, you would expect that he would in turn forgive his fellow man of his debt, right? Well, that's not how this story ends. This slave chooses to have his fellow man imprisoned and tortured for the small debt that he owed.

So let's bring this home. We are the first slave in this parable. We had a debt to God that we were not capable of paying back. God chose to release us of this debt and to forgive us through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ. So we, as the first slave, having received this immeasurable forgiveness have a choice in how we dispense it, in how we define it and ultimately, how we live it out in our daily lives. We all have those who have wronged us and in that, a debt has been created. Remember, it's not about how we feel, forgiveness is not about emotion. If we are to look at the greatest example of forgiveness, Jesus with his arms stretched out, taking his last breaths, choosing to die so that we might be forgiven, then we can't expect forgiveness to be a nonchalant word that we flippantly throw around. It's a choice, and sometimes it's painful. It doesn't say that the wrong that was done is okay, on the contrary, forgiveness says, "What you did was wrong, but I'm not going to hold it against you." Will we choose to imprison and torture others or will we look to the example of forgiveness in our own lives and choose to release others of their debts as well?

Just some food for thought, I've been chewing on it all week.

Convenience Store Christianity

How many of us love that we can walk into a convenience store anytime we want to and satisfy almost any craving we might have? We call it a convenience store for a reason, it’s just that, it’s convenient and the reality is that many of us are guilty of approaching the Christian life with this same mentality. It’s this idea of looking to God for what we want when we want it. We’ve made it all about us and we’ve made it convenient. We’ve replaced the one true God with our own created, weak, Santa Claus, meaningless god. We’ve stripped Him of almost all He is and all for the sake of convenience. I’m not sure where we lost the die to ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow him. I don’t see this on very many shelves in our faith. It’s not very “convenient.” “Lord enlarge my territory, but don’t make me talk to that person.” “Lord, I want to live my life for you, but I’m not giving that up.” “You can’t really want me to sacrifice my reputation, my popularity, my status…” "I can be a 'Christian' and dine in the world’s kingdom too." So we grab onto 50% of the life God is offering through His son Jesus Christ, and we think we can grab onto 50% of the life this world has to offer and we try to straddle this fence. We live in mediocrity and tolerance. We’ve convinced ourselves that all God wants for us is fame, fortune and freedom from pain. We pick and choose what parts of the Bible we “agree” with and choose which characteristics we like about God and we create our own god. He’s weak, He’s powerless and He’s definitely not in control. He’s needy, he’s limited and He’s not real. We put before ourselves an idol that we worship, a god we’ve created. Meanwhile the lover of our souls is asking us to open our hands and let go of the parts of this world we’re holding on to and to really fall in love, to surrender it all for the sake of knowing Christ and the power of the resurrected life, knowing that the reward is so much greater than the price and recognizing that this Jesus is so much more than a shot to inoculate us against hell. He’s a heart healer, a fear taker, a soul soother, a father to the fatherless, a source of strength, a redeemer, His love is unconditional, His joy is inexpressible, His creation is unrivaled, His mercy is unfathomable, His grace is unmerited…and knowing Him is a lifestyle…and the reality is that He’s certainly not like anything we might find on the shelves of any faith convenience store.

- Michal Crozier
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”He's the King of the Jews. He's the King of the Gentiles. He's the King of righteousness. He's the King of the ages. He's the King of heaven. He's the King of glory. He's the King of kings. He's the Lord of lords. That's my King. Well, I wonder, do you know him?

The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmaments show His handiwork. My king is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him pouring out His blessings.

He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's infinitely powerful. He's impartially merciful. Do you know Him?

He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of the world. He's God's Son. He's the sinner's Savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He stands in the solitude of Himself. He's honest and He's unique. He's unparallel. He's unprecedented.

He's the loftiest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He us the supreme problem in higher criticism. He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology. He's the core, the necessity for spiritual religion. He's the miracle of the ages. Yes, He is. He's superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He's the one qualified to be our all-sufficiency. I wonder if you know Him today.

He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and tried. He's sympathizes and He saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the leper. he forgives the sinner. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent. And He beautifies the meek. I wonder if you know Him.

Well, this is my King. He's the key of knowledge. He's the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the pathway of peace. He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway of glory. Do you know Him?

His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe him to you.

He's indescribable. He's incomprehensible. He's invincible. He's irresistible. Well, you can't get Him out of your mind. You can't get Him off of your hand. You can't outlive him and you can't live without Him. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found they couldn't stop Him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him. That's my King.

And Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever and ever and ever! How long is that? And ever and ever! And when you are through with all the forevers, then amen! God Almighty! AMEN!”

- Dr. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge