Be Forgiving

In The Greatest Story Ever Told, Peter says, “A thief has stolen my coat.”  Jesus asks, “Is that all?”  “Is that all,” asks Peter.  “It was the only coat I had.”  Then Jesus begins to teach an important lesson while Peter, who I see as representing all of us, continues to whine about his coat.  Jesus says, “But of what value is a thing which can be stolen by a thief?  Go and find that thief.  Give him your cloak also, and give him anything else he wishes, within your power to give him, for he is poor in spirit and in need.”  Peter responds, “But if everyone did what you say, thieves would soon take over the world.”  Jesus says, “Thieves and murderers walk in darkness.  You must be their light, not their judge.”  Peter says quietly, “All I am saying is someone has taken my coat.  I think it wrong to have taken it.” 

Finally Jesus gets to the point of the lesson.  “All I am saying, Peter, is that, as you have been judging, you will be judged.  With your measure, it will be measured to you.”  Like many of us, Peter continues to talk about what has happened to him as though he has not heard Jesus at all.  “Best coat I ever owned.”  Jesus goes a little further with His lesson by reminding Peter about how God will take care of us.  “Be not troubled about your coat.  See the lilies of the field grow.  They neither toil nor spin, but even Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed like one of these.”  Peter continues to whine, saying, “How am I to keep warm?” Finally Jesus offers His coat to Peter, who backs away, too ashamed to accept that which is offered to him. 

Jesus is not condoning the sin of stealing.  He is teaching Peter a higher law, and that is that we should be compassionate and forgiving.  He is teaching that we should not judge the sin of another, because we do not know why they committed the sin, what drove them to it, what circumstances they are struggling with.   

If Jesus were talking to the one who stole the coat, His lesson, I am sure, would have been quite different.  He would have taught what the thief needed to hear to help him overcome his weakness and repent of his sins. 

I’m not going to get into the question of legal punishment or personal responsibility to earn what one needs in this life.  All I want to discuss now is the blessing that is called forgiveness.  We all want, at various times in our lives, to be forgiven.  We regret what we have done.  We want to escape the consequences of bad choices we’ve made.  We want to go back to the way things were before we made a mistake or hurt someone.  We would like to erase what we did so that there would be no knowledge of it for us or anyone else.  And of course we want to escape God’s punishment for our sins. 

The only way that can be done is through the atonement.  Jesus took upon Himself all the sins that any of us have ever or will ever commit.  That means that, if we allow it to be so, He satisfies justice for what we have done.  Then He offers us mercy, forgiving us, wiping away the eternal consequence of our sin and then forgetting whatever it was we did. 

So how do we allow it to be so?  We must accept the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  We must partake of the atonement by repenting and doing all that He has taught us to do. 

And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.  (Omni 1:26)

If we accept His sacrifice, we are accepting that He paid the price for our sins, that with His suffering and death, He wiped away the consequences, and that He made us clean.  As such, we are no longer accountable for our sins.  Jesus is.  If we accept His atonement, we accept that it applies to everyone.  Therefore, we accept that those who sin against us are also forgiven of their sins.   

Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.  And ye ought to say in your hearts--let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.  (D&C 64:9-11)

When we refuse to forgive someone without conditions, we are denying the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  We do not accept that He paid for their sins.  We pass judgment and require that they suffer for what they did.  We want them to be punished.  We wait for them to show remorse, make restitution and prove that they have changed. 

Jesus illustrated the error in this in the incident of the woman caught in adultery.  Her sin merited death by stoning according to the Law of Moses.  He did not deny that.  He just said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7) 

We cannot deny the redeeming power of the sacrifice of the Savior for someone else while at the same time accepting it for ourselves.  We either accept this gift of redemption or we do not.  This great blessing relieves us of the responsibility to make sure people are punished for their sins.  We leave it in the hands of He who knows all things. 

If we are forgiving, relinquishing all the hurt and resentment and anger that results from the sins of another, we can experience the love of the Savior healing our broken hearts and our injured souls.  We can be Happy Like Jesus.