Text: Matthew 6:5-15
January 15, 2012
I broke Russ Laub’s nose on Monday, and he didn’t even deserve it – not that he would ever deserve a broken nose. It was an accident, of course. He and three others of us often play basketball on Monday afternoons. I was going to the basket, and when I jumped, my head hit Russ’s nose. It wasn’t my head that broke.
Anyone who plays sports know that these things happen – you bump into each other, you run into elbows, you tear your Achilles, and so on. Those of us who play basketball above the rim, like Russ and I do, are especially vulnerable. We know that it goes with the territory of advanced athleticism.
But even though Russ knows and I know and others know that injuries are unavoidable when you play sports, I felt terrible. Russ is my friend, and it was me who hurt him, no one else. When we left the gym, Russ had blood all over his shirt and he said he was going to the ER to get it checked out. Me? I went home, ate dinner, and settled in for the evening.
I had planned to call Russ later, but before I got the chance, he called me. He told me that his nose wasn’t as bad as he thought. He told me that he didn’t need to go to the hospital. But, most of all, he was calling to tell me not to worry about it, that it was an accident, and that I shouldn’t think more about it. Russ was the one who had been injured, but he called me because he was concerned about me – he wanted me to know that he held nothing against me. He wanted me to feel free. What an act of grace on Russ’s part.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I thought of Russ’s phone call as I contemplated God’s forgiveness this week. That’s because God’s forgiveness and our forgiveness are linked constantly in the Bible. When we forgive other people, we are reflecting God’s own image in us. In Jesus, it is God who forgives us of our sins, and we participate in God’s forgiveness as we offer forgiveness to others. In extending forgiveness to others, God’s children imitate God’s own behavior. When we withhold forgiveness, seeking to punish and destroy . . . well, it’s not our Creator who we imitate.
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