Part 32 – Imagining the Unimaginable – Genesis 45:3-8
April 15, 2018Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Speaker: Jerry Cisar
This Sunday we dive deeply into the same story we looked at in total last week. Now instead of looking at the forest, we are going to examine one particular tree: forgiveness.
Forgiveness is counter-intuitive—it is not natural. Watch “Animal Planet,” or “Nature” on PBS, and you will not find forgiveness. If ever you watch one in which the lion chases down the gazelle and the two walk away friends, let me know. Herman Bavinck says it well: “Nature knows no forgiveness.”
Forgiveness is transformational. We will see how Joseph’s theology transformed him into a forgiver, but we also see that his brothers, having been forgiven, are able to be transformed. In order to forgive, we must first be forgiven. However, forgiveness comes with obligations, obligations that define what it means to truly live.
Finally, we will see that forgiveness aims for reconciliation—even if that reconciliation has to await the age to come in some cases. Forgiveness, except in the minor offenses of life, doesn’t mean forgetting, but it does transform our memories. It changes the trajectory of where our memories lead.