Love Extended -- Seeking Forgiveness and Peace

One of the strongest themes in Jesus' teaching is forgiveness. He certainly intends us to forgive each other as individuals. But he was often speaking of the community. In his community there were a number of people who were looked down upon. These included tax collectors, who were regarded as collaborators with the Romans, and prostitutes, whose sin is obvious, but apparently also many ordinary people who didn't have the time and resources to carry out all of the commandments that some considered essential.

Jesus spent much of his time with these people, reassuring them of God's love. However the people who are shown as responding to him are also shown as repenting of their sins. A tax collector who followed him, Zaccheus,vowed to return anything he had fraudulently taken fourfold.

Jesus seems to have accomplished what most of us find nearly impossible: He seems to have accepted everyone on their own terms, but also inspired people to change their lives for the better, without appearing to be judgmental in the process. Christians try to capture this with concepts such as "hate the sin but love the sinner", and "tough love". A more traditional description is to say that Christianity must balance Law and Gospel. I'm afraid that these attempts are not always successful.

Christians are called on to forgive enemies, both Christian and non-Christian. This forgiveness is intended to benefit both parties. In many cases it may win over the other person, and restore (or establish) a relationship with them. However even when it does not, forgiveness is important. Bitterness and resentment are two of the more destructive emotions.

Wars and fights and dehumanizing acts should be a thing of the past for the Christian.. Christians should be able to come up with better ways to deal with conflict. Peacemaking is a priority among Christians. We serve the Prince of Peace.  This goes for national events and personal confkicts.  We need to work for peace. We need to encourage members to study conflict resolution and personal peacemaking techniques.Love and forgiveness and peace are things that Christians must pursue -- and urge others to pursue.