The Lord is Forgiving

Psalm 86:5 (NIV)

5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

The goodness of God's nature is a great encouragement to us in all our addresses to him. His goodness appears in two things, giving and forgiving. He is a sin-pardoning God; not only he can forgive, but he is ready to forgive, more ready to forgive than we are to repent. He is a prayer-hearing God; he is plenteous in mercy, very full, and very free, both rich and liberal unto all those that call upon him; he has wherewithal to supply all their needs and is openhanded in granting that supply. [Matthew Henry]

NPR ran a heartbreaking interview with Robert Ebeling, an engineer who worked on the 1986 Challenger launch that resulted in the death of all seven occupants. In January 1986, Ebeling and four other engineers pleaded for the launch to be delayed; they anticipated the precise failure that would destroy the shuttle. That night, Ebeling even told his wife, Darlene, "It's going to blow up." The engineers' pleas were refused. Three weeks after the explosion, he and another engineer, since deceased, spoke to NPR. Ebeling was not identified by name until this past week. The NPR article continued:

Ebeling retired soon after Challenger. He suffered deep depression and has never been able to lift the burden of guilt. In 1986, as he watched that haunting image again on a television screen, he said, "I could have done more. I should have done more." He says the same thing today, sitting in a big easy chair in the same living room, his eyes watery and his face grave. The data he and his fellow engineers presented, and their persistent and sometimes angry arguments, weren't enough to sway Thiokol managers and NASA officials. Ebeling concludes he was inadequate. He didn't argue the data well enough. A religious man, this is something he has prayed about for the past 30 years. "I think that was one of the mistakes that God made," Ebeling says softly. "He shouldn't have picked me for the job. But next time I talk to him, I'm gonna ask him, 'Why me. You picked a loser.'"

[Howard Berkes, "30 Years After Explosion, Challenger Engineer Still Blames Himself," NPR The Two-Way blog (1-28-16)]

If someone would have just said, “The Lord is forgiving and good,” maybe Ebeling could have forgiven himself. He held onto a burden of guilt that he could have let go of so easily by turning it over to God. He believed he was a loser because of what happened, but I see him as a hero for standing up and raising a voice even though it wasn’t fully heard.

Staying Humble

James 4:10 (NIV)

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Those that draw nigh to God in a way of duty shall find God drawing nigh to them in a way of mercy. Draw nigh to him in faith, and trust, and obedience, and he will draw nigh to you for your deliverance. If there be not a close communion between God and us, it is our fault, and not his. He shall lift up the humble. [Matthew Henry]

In the 1840s a court case based in Chicago captured the attention of the entire nation. Labeled "The Reaper Case," it centered on the patenting of farm equipment invented by Cyrus McCormick. At the time the case had such high-stakes that legal rock stars from the East Coast trekked to the Midwest to take on the case. But since the judge was from Illinois, these Ivy League trained lawyers decided to add a local lawyer to their legal team. So after working their networks, they found an obscure, small town lawyer to join their high-powered team.

When the high-powered, sophisticated Ivy League lawyers met their new teammate, they were stunned. He was poorly dressed and disheveled. He spoke with a strong small town accent and used folksy vernacular phrases. In short, he was a country bumpkin. One of the team's leading lawyers, a man named Edwin Stanton, said in this small town lawyer's presence, "Let's do away with this ape." Then they did what any immature men would do. They ditched him. They would have meals without him. They would tell him different times for the court case to be tried, and then they would get there earlier and the court case would be going on. They viewed him as someone of very significant insignificance.

Stanton won the case. He went on to become one of the leading lights in the American legal profession and politics. As a matter of fact, he became the Secretary of War during the Civil War. But much to his shock he went to work for the one he called "ape." It was Abraham Lincoln, whose incredible significance was not known until the very last years of his life.

[Stewart Ruch III, Sermon "When Small Is Great," PreachingToday.com]

Empathy in restoration

Galatians 6:1 (NIV)

6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

These words are an encouragement to us to help those who are struggling in life. We are to help restore them to a place away from sin while showing them grace and mercy. As we do this we should watch ourselves that we don’t get overly involved and fall into the same trap they did.

Lt. Jack Cambria has spent more than a decade talking people down from the ledge. Until his retirement in 2015, he was the commanding officer of the NYPD's hostage negotiation team for over 33 years. During his career he became an expert at saving fellow cops from gun-wielding maniacs or dissuading people to not jump off New York City's skyscrapers or bridges.

What's the secret to success as a hostage negotiator? Cambria says, "The very good negotiators, I think, are the ones with the life stories"—particularly, he would add, life stories of pain that have produced compassion for others. Cambria claims, "[Good negotiators must] experience the emotion of love at one point in their life, to know what it means to have been hurt in love at one point in their life, to know success and perhaps, most important, to know what it means to know failure."

He learned this lesson during his first day as a police officer. Cambria admitted that he had his "own baggage about the homeless, they were violent, they were dirty, they were mentally ill." Then one day, he had to confront a homeless fare beater and searched his satchel. Inside wasn't a weapon but a manuscript of a play titled "Crabs in a Basket," a metaphor for the man, of his struggle to crawl out of the hole he was in.

"In that two-minute space of time, he had transposed himself from a homeless guy—my baggage—to a playwright," he recalled. That compassion has led colleagues to refer to him as "Gentleman Jack," whose guiding principle is to just get the suspects talking.

[Pervaiz Shallwani, "Life Lessons From the NYPD's Top Hostage Negotiator," The Wall Street Journal (8-28-15)]

Love with action

Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The Lord Jesus presses upon us that righteousness towards men is an essential branch of true religion, and that religion towards God is an essential branch of universal righteousness. Romans 12:10 tells us, ‘Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.’

The Italians have a beautiful expression for love: ti voglio bene. Though commonly translated as "I love you," [the phrase] more literally means "I wish you good" or "I want what is good for you."

This simple phrase reminds us that true love is not primarily about what good feelings may be stirring within me. Even less is it about what I can get out of a relationship for myself. The fullness of love is looking outward toward my beloved and seeking what is best for that person, not just what is good for me. [Adapted from Edward Sri, Men, Women and the Mystery of Love (Servant Books, 2007), page 55]

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?  Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18)

Do everything with grumbling or arguing

Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Encouragement from the apostle that we should do everything with hesitation of complaint so that we can become blameless and pure according to the word of God.

Cheryl A. Bachelder, the CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, turned her company around with a focus on serving others. A committed Christian in the workplace, Bachelder is also the author of Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others. In a recent interview, she share her thoughts on servanthood:

The Bible verse that's on my calendar every day is Philippians 2:3. Because I haven't found one that's more paramount to how I want to lead in my family and in my work. And that is, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." I really like the choice of words around counting others more significant than yourselves. I believe we're all born with an inner 2-year-old. And we'd really still like to be laying on the floor, kicking and screaming because we didn't get the candy bar we wanted. It's pretty hardwired that we're self-absorbed little people. And we learn to fake it well, but we're still pretty much that 2-year-old on the inside.

I find that biblical perspective really challenging in every aspect of my day—how I'm spending my time, the decisions that I make. To put them through a filter of whether I'm thinking about myself or whether I'm thinking about others. Am I doing this because I'll get a bigger bonus check? Or am I really thinking about the long-term interest of this company? Am I doing this truly for my franchise owners, or am I getting some personal benefit that I haven't been willing to acknowledge?" Those kinds of provocative self-mirror questions hold you to a higher standard. I always say servant leadership is an aspiration, because you can really never claim you've arrived. Because as soon as you do, someone will find you—and in a trap of self-interest. It's something you're always working toward.

[Adapted from Religion & Liberty, "Servant Leadership in a Louisiana Kitchen" (Volume 26, Number 3)]

The community

Galatians 3:26-28 (NIV)

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

A reminder that all who have placed their faith in Christ are Christians and there equals a brothers and sisters of Christ. For like the arms, legs, feet and other parts of a body make up the entire body, so do all Christians make up the body of Christ.

When we have forgotten the past, the community helps us re-learn our own story. The case of "Benjamin Kyle" is instructive. In the early morning of August 31, 2004, employees of a Burger King in Richmond Hill, GA found a man unconscious next to a dumpster. He was naked, sunburnt, and had bites from red ants. His skull had three depressions, apparently from blunt force trauma. He also had amnesia and was unable to remember his own name, much less how he came to be found beaten behind a Burger King. The employees called 911, and he was taken to a hospital in Savannah; but without identity papers or memory, they listed him only as "Burger King Doe."

For more than ten years he was unable to remember his name and thus was unable to get a Social Security card. He could not obtain a job nor collect any kind of benefits from the government. He named himself "Benjamin Kyle," sensing that his first name might have been Benjamin, and he sought a community that knew him previously to help him piece together his identity. You see, without a community, this man had no access to his story. Finally, with the help of investigative reporters and genetic testing, "Benjamin Kyle" learned his real name and likely family of origin. As he started to identify with his community again he said, "Looking at all these names, all these people, kind of gives me a sense of belonging," he said. "I have a history. I'm not just some stranger that materialized out of thin air."

[Jeffrey Arthurs, Boston, Massachusetts; source: Kent Justice, "Man with no name finally knows real identity," News4Jax.com (9-15-16)]

I'm a sinner

1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)

15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

The Lord loved us and sent His son to atone for our sins. Because of the love shown for us, we should act as holy people because of the love shown towards us.

Karl Barth preached regularly to the inmates of the prison in his hometown of Basel, Switzerland. Knowledge of that context adds poignancy to the sermons. Here was an audience of people who had been officially judged and condemned as guilty. One of the sermons is based on Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God." He illustrated by retelling a Swiss legend:

You probably all know the legend of the rider who crossed the frozen Lake of Constance by night without knowing it. When he reached the opposite shore and was told whence he came, he broke down horrified. This is the human situation when the sky opens and the earth is bright, when we may hear: By grace you have been saved! In such a moment we are like that terrified rider. When we hear this word we involuntarily look back, do we not, asking ourselves: Where have I been? Over an abyss, in mortal danger! What did I do? The most foolish thing I ever attempted! What happened? I was doomed and miraculously escaped and now I am safe!

In the same way, everyone who is trusting Christ for salvation by grace alone can say, "I was in mortal danger. I was doomed but through the cross of Christ I miraculously escaped and now I am safe!"

[Adapted from Fleming Rutledge, "Hallelujah, I'm a Miserable Sinner,"  The Behemoth]

Be intentionally holy

1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)

13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

We are told to remember the grace we have been given so that we may keep our minds alert and sober to keep ourselves holy.

Can we be guilty for sinful responses that seem to erupt in us automatically? Can we really consider sin voluntary if it is not consciously chosen? Consider the following illustration of how unintentional sin works:

Trained instincts—that's how fighter pilots can react immediately to rapidly changing situations as they operate $27 million war machines. When a threat aircraft is closing in, there's no time for pilots to reason through what to do. They have to rely on instinct—but not just natural instinct. They need instincts shaped deep within then through years of regiment. The countless little decisions they make in the cockpit are automatic, but that doesn't mean they're involuntary. The pilot voluntarily trained for them, and in the cockpit he reaps the instinctive benefits of that training.

Like the fighter pilot's hours of training, our hearts are under a regimen of beliefs and values that don't align with Scripture, drilled into us through what we put in our heads, what we receive as wisdom from other sources, what we accept as normal from culture. All of these shape our unintentional sin.

[Dr. Jeremy Pierre, "Involuntary Sins," TABLETALK (June 2016); submitted by: Van Morris, Mt. Washington]

The grace of God

Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

The grace of God offers us a free gift of salvation that we can choose to receive. In receiving that gift we also learn to live a self-controlled life that is upright and godly.

Patrick Greene of San Antonio, Texas, has had a long history of disliking and combating Christians. At one point Greene, an outspoken local atheist, threatened to sue Henderson County about the yearly manger display at the courthouse. "My wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us," Greene said in a local newspaper interview.

But all of that changed in March of 2012 when the 63-year-old Greene learned that he needed surgery for a detached retina. Greene didn't have money to pay for the surgery, and he had to give up his cab driving job. When Jessica Crye, a member of Sand Springs Baptist Church, heard about Greene's situation, she told her pastor, Eric Graham, who then called Greene. Greene said, "If you really want to contribute something, we need groceries."

Greene thought that if anything, he'd see $50, or at most $100. But a few days later, the church sent a check for $400. More checks soon followed. The flabbergasted Greene said, "I thought I was in the Twilight Zone. These people are acting like what the Bible says a Christian does."

Now, rather than try to remove the manger display, Greene said he would like to add his contribution—a star for the top of the Nativity scene. However, Greene added, "You people can figure out how to plug it in."

[Matt Woodley, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; source: Rich Flowers, "Atheist 'flabbergasted' by Christians' assistance," Athens Review (3-20-12)]

When the love of God manifests itself through us, others can see that love and understand the love of God.