My guess is that the idea of forgiving God could sound irreverent. I also know, however, that for some of us it’s a struggle that is real– even if that makes us morally and spiritually suspect. Because of terrible things that have happened to us, we are angry, embittered, and beside ourselves in disappointment with God. I’m not there right now. But I’ve been there.
Before wading in, let’s recap how we got here. In an earlier series of posts I talked about wanting to think together about some issues of forgiveness. You responded well and together we’ve done some thinking about issues of being forgiven, forgiving others, forgiving ourselves, and then forgiving God. I’ve delayed the last until now.
So where should we start? To begin with, I’m not sure that those of us who have a beef with God actually think he has done something that is morally wrong. The issue is more that many of us feel that God has wronged us– in ways that have broken our hearts, shattered our trust, and caused us to wonder how a loving Father in heaven could ever take something so precious to us.
If that sounds uncomfortable to talk about, it’s important to see that God himself has devoted part of his own book to help us explore our struggle to come to terms with what he has either given– or withheld from us.
Job, according to one of the oldest stories in the Bible, was a good man who lived long enough to see his life to go bad. By God’s own indication (which Job was not able to hear), the man from Ur Uz, was God’s pride and joy.
Yet after Job and his wife lost precious children, their immeasurable grief was complicated even more by the loss of Job’s wealth, his health, and his reputation in the community (Job 1-2) . His dear friends even accused him of hiding the scandal that would explain why such terrible things happened to him.
In the middle of overwhelming, numbing pain, Job complained, “God has wronged me, and has surrounded me with His net. If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice. He has fenced up my way so that I cannot pass; and he has set darkness in my paths. He has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head. He breaks me down on every side, And I am gone; My hope He has uprooted like a tree. He has also kindled His wrath against me, and He counts me as one of His enemies. His troops come together and build up their road against me; they encamp all around my tent. He has removed my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. My relatives have failed, and my close friends have forgotten me (Job 19:6-14).
Maybe it would be good to stop here– and take some time to think about this together. Is this quote from one of the best of men enough reason to see that “forgiving God” may be something that is OK for us to talk about? Can we wade into this together without expecting self-righteous sermons from one another? I hope you know me well enough to know that I’m saying that with a smile…
(+3 rating, 3 votes)
Loading...