Called to Forgive

Being a Friend to Your Enemy

This blog is being published between the day our nation recognizes the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the inauguration of the next President of the United States of America after one of the most divisive elections in our nation’s history. The legacy and dream of Dr. King and the current state of our national and political climate could not be in sharper contrast. 

We are a nation at war with itself. While we may not be firing actual rockets at each other, the intent seems to be to destroy through slander, accusations, distortions, and outright lies anyone who might disagree with us. Both sides are doing it. Militants from the left and the right seem to be controlling the narrative, leaving us all to wonder if there are any adults left in the room. Everyone, it seems, is being pigeon holed based on their perceived ideology or political bent. People are being written off with a simple “He’s a left-wing Democrat” or “She’s a right-wing Republican,” as they are identified with the worst examples of whatever group we choose to associate them with. 

But Dr. King’s dream seemed to be quite different. He dreamed of a culture where people were not judged by external characteristics, but rather their internal qualities. His message was one of peace and reason, choosing to honor the humanity of those who opposed him. He chose to love his enemies instead of hating them.  

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

So how do we find the bridge between where we are and where Dr. King dreamed we would be? We find the bridge by choosing to see people as Jesus sees them and forgiving as He forgave us. Jesus’ model in dealing with people is dramatically counter-intuitive for us. 

Jesus viewed people as more important than their failures. He never treated His enemies as enemies.  Jesus loves people and He hates sin, but His love for people is greater than His hatred is for their sin. In fact, He hates our sin so much that He died in order to separate us from our sin so He could restore us to relationship with Him and His Father. There is no sin that we can bring to Jesus to which He will say, “I didn’t cover that one.” He covered them all. 

Yet we seem to have a growing list in our culture of unforgivable and unrecoverable sins. “If they do …, or if they ever said …, or if they were ever associated with…”  then they must forever keep paying and be associated with whatever “it” is. Our list of Scarlet Letters is longer than our alphabet. But that is not the way of Jesus:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?”  Matthew 5:43-47 

Jesus didn’t just teach this, He modeled it. When Judas led the mob to Him, Jesus greeted His betrayer by saying, “Friend, do what you have come for.” (Matthew 26:50) Did you see that? He called him friend! Jesus didn’t treat His enemies as enemies, He treated his enemies as friends.

Saul experienced this from Jesus.  Saul was a sworn enemy of Jesus who had made it his life mission to destroy the Church by any means necessary, including murder. Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest the Christians there when Jesus confronted him, redeemed him, called him into His service, gave him a new name, and used him to write a majority of the New Testament. He was known as “Paul” when he penned these words: 

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:8-10

Do you see how countercultural that is? While we were in open hostility to God, God reconciled us to Himself through the death and resurrection of His Son. Jesus didn’t reject us in our rebellion, He redeemed us out of our rebellion. The only One who could justifiably write us off, didn’t! Jesus looked beyond our faults, and saw our need. 

Since God loved us and forgave our sins while we were in our sin, how do we not love our enemies and forgive in the same way? 

Today I had a conversation with one of our forgiveness coaches who, like many of us, had been anxious and somewhat agitated by all the political conflict and unrest. I asked her how she was doing and she answered, “I'm good. Last night I decided that the blood of Jesus even covers politicians too, so I chose to forgive them for what I see them doing to our country. When I did, my heart was immediately at peace and my perspective toward them changed. I now see them as hurting people who need Jesus.” 

I don’t anticipate a joint session of Congress locking arms and singing kumbaya anytime soon. Political unity won’t happen unless there is a great awakening that turns our nation’s collective hearts to God. But as followers of Jesus, we are called to a different Way. The way of Jesus doesn’t view people as enemies, but as friends; not as problems, but as those who need the Gospel.

We are called to forgive.