In this New Year, what fuels your imagination and aspirations? Is it to be like a tree planted by water streams, which yields fruit in season? Jesus said, “Abide in me, and you will bear much fruit.” Abiding in Jesus is the only way to be Christlike. One aspect of Christlikeness is the practice of forgiveness. Christ loved and died for us to set us free from the captivity of corrupt desires that first induce us and then torment us. Similarly, the approaching painful death tormented the two criminals between whom Jesus was crucified.
However, even amid the pain and torture of the cross, the response of Jesus to the dying thief’s confession and repentance, “to remember him when he comes in his kingdom,” was to offer the repentant thief forgiveness and promise paradise. The thief acknowledged his guilt and the justice of his punishment, in contrast to the innocence of Jesus. Repentance was an essential step in receiving forgiveness. Jesus’ offer of forgiveness transformed the thief.
Jesus’ teaching on dealing with sin in the church (Matt 18:15–35) exemplifies divinity. The sinner who acknowledges his sin and repents receives forgiveness. As disciples of Christ demonstrate forgiveness as an embodied way of life, it reveals their transformative participation in God’s life; this requires cultivation of the practices of prayer and repentance. It shows taking part in the nature and will of the heavenly Father who desires love and mercy (7:21; 12:50; 18:19, 35). Jesus knows our anger can prevent us from reconciling with God and others. Jesus urges us to be reconciled to our brothers and sisters before we offer our gifts at the altar (5:23–24). Our communion with God presupposes our reconciliation with others. Through the reconciliation of forgiveness between people, God and humans are united.
In our prayers of confession, we learn humility and are freed from the compulsive need to defend our own righteousness. Jesus’s reconciling ministry calls us to be reconcilers and forgivers.