"Peace on Earth," part five

It’s hard to take the initiative in making peace when you feel wronged. Or even if someone else feels you wronged them. It’s uncomfortable, and icky. (Although the good news is it, like everything, gets much easier when you practice!)

It’s hard to be forgiving on the inside as well as the outside. But Jesus says that what we say to each other matters, and how we feel about each other matters. What’s in our hearts matters.

But here’s the best part: we don’t have to be humble and forgiving just because it’s the right thing to do. We don’t practice this and fail and try again and work toward conflict resolution because we should. We do it because he did it for us first. We do it because we know what it feels like on the other side. We do it because we are forgiven. Because our conflict has been resolved.

In Matthew 18, Jesus follows up his teaching with a parable. There was a man who owed a lot of money to a really big fish. It was serious. Some limbs could definitely be snapped if he didn’t pay up. In fact, the fish set out to take his wife and kids, too. But the man went to the big fish, crawling, and begged for mercy. He explained that he couldn’t pay the money back, he begged for more time, and a shocking thing happened: the big fish nodded. “Go,” he said. “Fuggetaboutit.” Just like that. His debt was erased. The big fish had pity on the man and his family and let them go.

So the man, relieved but also pretty stressed by this incident, went to his down-and-out friend and took out his stress on him. The friend owed him some money and the man demanded that he pay up. The friend couldn’t, so the man roughed him up good. The big fish found out and dragged the man back in. And tortured him. Until the money was all paid back … the previously forgiven debt … because the man who received mercy didn’t show mercy.

Nice story, huh? Yeah, it actually says the guy was tortured.

And then Jesus brings it all home with this: “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Are you kidding me? I guess he really is serious about this. We have been forgiven, no questions asked. We have been redeemed and restored, and all the not-so-good things we’ve done, all our bad choices, are wiped out. We’re free and clear, just for the asking. I don’t know about you, but that right there speaks peace to my soul. I love being forgiven.

But Jesus doesn’t leave it there. God doesn’t leave it there. Now, he says, do unto others. Now, get over yourself. Go to them, humble your heart, and do everything you can to make peace.