In this message I would like to address a topic that has been on my heart and mind for some time now. You hear a lot about "love" and "Forgiveness" when the subject of Christianity comes up The questions I would like to put before you are these; "What does love really mean?" "When we say we forgive someone, do we actually forgive them if we keep bringing up the past?" Hopefully I can bring some light to the subject of love and forgiveness. We as human beings in a fallen state are on a journey and while on this journey we are continually going to encounter many opportunities to not only forgive, but ask for forgiveness and along the way we will have many, many opportunities to show love in one form or another. The journey you are on is your journey and no one else's. The people you encounter along the way are your opportunities to grow spiritually by either receiving help from them or offering your assistance to them. What happens with these encounters are an indication to where you are on your journey. Ever wonder how far along you are? If you are wondering what this journey you are on is, let me fill you in. The journey we are all on is to get back to our real home, which is back to where we came from, Heaven. Our life here on earth is temporary, we are not meant to stay in this world while it is in a corrupt state. While we are here we are supposed to be about doing the will of God.
Let's begin with the word "LOVE." In the english language this word is used in many different context's. For instance, I can say I love my dog, or I love coffee, or maybe I love my friends. In another way I tell my wife that I love her, or maybe you tell your boyfriend or girlfriend, I love you. And in another instance I can say I love God. The word love is used to describe a feeling towards someone or something. If we would examine the word "LOVE" a little deeper we would find that there are several meanings to this word. I'm sure many of you have been through some sort of study on the word love, especially if you have attended a church of one denomination or another. Many psychologist, pastor's, sociologist, and various other author's of the love realm have written books on the subject of Love. I am not one of those people, but I have been through some classes on the subject. What I found is that the word love carries a lot more weight when separated out into its many meanings. Take a look at these meanings and hold onto them while we go through this message together. These definitions are of a biblical origin, although you won't find all the words in the scriptures, they do come from examples given in scripture.
Information below is taken from the web site "About Religion" http://christianity.about.com/od/glossary/a/Storge.htm
Storge Love (STOR-jay): Storge is family love, the bond among mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Examples of family love are found in Scripture, such as the love and mutual protection among Noah and his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law in Genesis. The love of Jacob for his sons; and the strong love the sisters Martha and Mary in the gospels had for their brother Lazarus. The family was a vital part of ancient Jewish culture. Exodus 20:12 gives a very good indication of how God thought about the family.
Eros Love (AIR-0se): is the physical, sensual love between a husband and wife. The word Eros like Storge does not appear in the scriptures but is indicated by example. The word Eros is a Greek term, eros, or erotic love, is portrayed in the Old Testament book, "The Song of Solomon." Within marriage, sex is used for emotional and spiritual bonding and for reproduction. In the Bible, God's word to us, is very clear about sex outside of marriage is forbidden.
Philia Love (FILL-ee-uh): Philia means close friendship or brotherly love in Greek. It is one of the four types of love in the Bible. This form of love is found throughout the New Testament. Christians are frequently exhorted to love their fellow Christians, Romans 12:10
Agape Love (uh-GAH-pay): Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. This Greek word and variations of it are found throughout the New Testament. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for His followers, John 14:21. Jesus lived out Agape by sacrificing Himself for the sins of the world.
So as you can see by these definitions there are various types of love that we as humans can demonstrate. As a follower of Jesus Christ we are to strive for the highest form of love, Agape. We will however always express the lesser forms of love to each other. Once we begin to express the Agape love to our fellow man we will begin to see that it is expressed far more in the form of sacrifice. Now let's move on to another word that we should consider very seriously while we are on this journey of life, especially as followers of Christ. That word would be "FORGIVENESS."
What exactly does it mean to forgive? Is it just someone saying I'm sorry and someone else saying, that's okay, forget about it? Maybe it is more of a heartfelt it's okay, nothing to forgive. Does forgiveness mean we say I forgive you but I can't forget what you did? Maybe we should spend a little time here examining what forgiveness truly means.
Forgive (for-give) to stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong) : to stop blaming (someone). To stop feeling anger about (something) : to forgive someone for (something wrong). To stop requiring payment of (money that is owed).
Here we have the general idea of what forgiving means, which basically is just get over it, stop blaming, stop being angry, forget about the tool they borrowed or the money they owe, maybe it's letting the harsh words that were spoken to or about you go. I wonder though if it is that simple. Do we just get over something by saying I forgive you? Does forgiving but not letting go really forgiveness? Now let's look at the biblical take on what it means to forgive.
In Matthew 18:21-22 Jesus is answering Peter's question "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven." The message to Peter was this, there is actually no limit on how many times you must forgive someone. It isn't a matter of just saying I forgive you and still hold anger or resentment in one's heart. As Jesus continued teaching on this subject He used a parable to explain the importance of treating others as you would like to be treated, which sounds familiar, you've heard of the "Golden Rule" right? The parable Jesus uses is about a king and a servant, the servant owing the king a large amount of money, the servant couldn't pay back what he owed, and the king threatened to throw the servant into the dungeon or prison until he paid off his large debt. The servant ask the king to be patient with him, basically begging the king not to throw him in prison. The king had mercy on the servant and forgave him the large debt, freeing the servant from the burden. Now the servant had workers under him and one of them owed him some money, not near what he owed the king. The servant demanded payment but the worker could not pay the small amount to the servant so he grabbed the worker or fellow servant and choked him demanding payment, the fellow servant begged him to be patient with him and he would repay everything he owed. The servant that was shown forgiveness of his debt did not do likewise with his fellow servant, instead he had the man thrown into prison until he could repay his debt. When the king heard about this he was angry with his servant and had him handed over to the jailers and tortured until he could repay his debt.
Here we see that forgiveness is more than just saying I forgive you, it goes beyond the basic mere words said in a situation that merits true forgiveness. The scriptures teach us much about forgiving our brother's and sister's in the Lord. Looking at the scripture in Matthew 18:21-22 that is mentioned above, we learn there are no limits in forgiving someone who sins against you. Jesus taught His disciples that if you are going to follow after me, you must forgive. Being forgiven was instituted by God way back right after Adam and Eve rebelled against God. God forgave mankind for what they did. God then set up a system for mankind to follow to receive forgiveness of their sins. This went on for thousands of years until Jesus Christ came to earth in human form. So forgiving is not some new concept brought about by some new age thinking, forgiveness was established by God, the creator of everything. So, when I say I forgive you for something that you did that wronged me, then my act of forgiveness as a follower of Christ must go much further than a few words spoken to you. My forgiveness must reach into the very heart of God and be shown in a way that relates to the forgiveness that Christ demonstrated on the cross. In Ephesians 4:32 we are told to "...be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another...". The latter part of the scripture makes it even more powerful,"even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you."
Mark 11:25 tells us that if we have something against anyone, we are to forgive that person while we are praying. This does not mean to wait until that person offers an apology, it means in your heart, to forgive. Colossians 3:13-15 gives us some fairly clear instructions on how we are to behave as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should note here that Paul was talking to Jewish Christians and just before Colossians 3:13 starting with Colossians 3:5 he was telling these followers to "put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you." From that point on Paul lists several things of this world that we need to get rid of in our lives. Why do we need to do this?, "because of these sins, the anger of God is coming." Paul is saying that to hold onto these things of the world displeases God a whole lot. The scripture goes on to say in verse 10 "to put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like Him." So, as we learn to walk in Christ more and more, then we can see that we must become more like Him in every area of our lives and less like the world that we used to be like. To become more like Christ there must be a higher calling to forgive one another as Christ forgave us. "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and FORGIVE ANYONE who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you MUST forgive others.
Love and forgiveness seems to be the central message that Jesus Christ left us with. Throughout His ministry here on earth Christ was about bringing hope to a lost and dying people. The hope He brought for all mankind was that redemption was and is possible. He continually reached out to people to comfort, encourage and heal. In order to tie the message of love and forgiveness together we need to look at a couple of scriptures that state these two messages as a central theme. Let's first look at 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. The form of love that is used in this chapter is "Agape" type love. Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. Throughout chapter 13 of Corinthians Paul uses this form of love. So what is he saying then? Paul is saying if you do not express this form of love towards other's you are nothing more than the Pharisee's who love to be seen for but don't really practice what they preach. Paul makes it clear that if you don't express Agape Love towards others, all of your understanding of scriptures, all of your faith you claim to have, and all your giving to the poor or even sacrificed your body, you have gained nothing if you don't Love other's with the love that God has provided. Read the chapter and let God's Holy Spirit penetrate your heart with His love. Let's step back a ways and see just what Jesus Christ said about love. Matthew 22:36-40 gives us just what Christ taught about love. The Pharisees approached Christ and ask Him "what is the greatest commandment in the law of Moses." Jesus's reply pretty well stopped them in their tracks. "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." Christ did not stop there, He went on to say: "A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." The word LOVE in this chapter is again in the form AGAPE. Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. So if God is telling us to love with this kind of love, then doesn't it stand to reason that FORGIVING comes under the realm of this kind of love. In Luke 23:34 Jesus Christ was being crucified as the Heavenly Father required for the redemption of mankind. Upon the cross, just before He gave up His Spirit, Jesus spoke to His Father and said: "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing." The word afhiemi (af-ee-ay-mee) FORGIVE in this passage carries this meaning in Greek: send away, I let go, release, permit to depart, I remit, forgive, I permit, suffer. In other words, Jesus while suffering because of all those around Him chose His Father's will and offered an unconditional love for them by giving His life for theirs. He ask His Father to let them go, release them from the wrong they have done.
The two most valuable characteristic's that a follower or believer in Jesus Christ can carry and express are LOVE and FORGIVENESS. Along with that they carry the Good News of the gospel, that being that Jesus Christ lives today, and there is hope for a lost and dying world. If every believer of Jesus Christ would grasp this truth and out of Agape love, Forgive those who have wronged them, then there truly is a chance for peace in the world around us. An unconditional forgiveness comes from a heart that carries the love of Christ within, an Agape love that never dies, that always gives and sacrifices. The world is waiting to see your light, is it shining on a hilltop for all to see, or is it shaded by an unforgiving, unloving heart that fails to see that those around you are in great need of what you have to offer. In my humble opinion, you cannot not have one without the other. These two attributes given to us through Christ must work together. For how can one say I Agape (Love) you and not find it in their heart to forgive?
Might we like Christ be able to not only say I love you unconditionally but offer our unconditional love to them just as Christ did on the cross. May the God of heaven bless you greatly as you reach out with His love and His forgiveness to a lost and dying world.
