Portraits Of Forgiveness

Feature 3 – September 2021 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Portraits Of Forgiveness

A beautiful perspective on forgiveness is given to us in “The Prodigal Son” story in Luke 15:11-32. The word “prodigal” means “wasteful,” but this story could also be called “The Story Of The Loving Father” or “The Forgiving Father.” It emphasizes the graciousness of the father more than the sinfulness of the son.

Unlike the shepherd who went looking for his one lost sheep (vv.4-7) or the woman who searched for a missing coin (vv.8-10), the father did not go out and seek the son. Instead, the memory of his father’s goodness brought the young man to repentance and back to the father for forgiveness. Romans 2:4 (NKJV) reminds us the “goodness of God” leads men to repent.

Three Sections
Looking at the parable of the son in Luke 15, we see three sections. In verses 11-16 we read of his rebellion: he went to a far country. That is a picture of each of us in our lost condition in rebellion against God. Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way.” Then in Luke 15:17-19 we find his repentance: he comes to himself. Lastly, in verses 20-24 we discover his rejoicing: he came toward his father and was met by him.

It is interesting to consider the father’s description of his son’s experience: “My son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (v.24). This is the spiritual experience of every lost sinner who comes to the Father through faith in Jesus Christ (Jn. 5:24; Eph. 2:1-10). It is also interesting to note the parallels between the prodigal son’s coming to his father and our coming to the Father through His Son. The remedy for every condition is found in Jesus Christ:

The Prodigal (Lk. 15) Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6)

He was lost (v.24) “I am the way,”

He was ignorant until “he came to himself” (v.17) “the truth,”

He was dead (v.24) “and the life.”

There is only one way to come to the Father: through faith in Jesus Christ. Have you come home?

Three Hearts
We can see three different types of hearts in the story of Luke 15, and it is instructive to look at them. Each one could very well be the heart of a believer. Every Christian needs, at the appropriate times, to have a repentant heart and a forgiving heart; but may we never have an unforgiving heart.

As we consider our points, it is important for us to realize that while this story is a beautiful picture of a lost sinner being restored back to God, this young man never stopped being a son of his father.

A Repentant Heart: The prodigal son demonstrated a repentant heart that was broken when he came to his senses and decided to return home to his father. The word “repentance” means “to change one’s mind.” It is to agree with God and make a u-turn in our life back to Him. Repentance is a brokenness and change of life direction marked by:

• Hunger for restoration. He longed for something more than what he had available to him in his sin; he longed to go home (vv.16-17). When our hearts are not right with the Lord, for whatever reason, the Spirit of God will work within us. He will convict us of sin and provoke inside us a hunger to be right with God and restored to anyone with whom we might be at odds. We need both relationships right: vertically with our Father and horizontally with our brethren.

• Humble confession. The son willingly acknowledged his selfish violation of love, first toward God and then others (vv.18-19). We are reminded in 1 John 1:9 of the need for Christians to keep a short account of our sin with God: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

John went on to challenge us to live consistently with, or faithful to, our position in the family of God. “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in darkness until now … he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (2:9,11).

If we hold something, anything, against a brother or sister it is like being in darkness. That gray cloud can become a dark cloud, and then it has the potential of becoming a black storm cloud in our Christian life, causing turbulence for us and everyone around us. James 5:16 exhorts us to “confess [our] trespasses to one another, and pray for one another.”

• Plea for mercy. The prodigal son recognized that he deserved nothing, and he sought for mercy to serve as a slave without a demand for restoration to his previous position in the family (Lk. 15:21). This servant attitude is exactly what the Lord Jesus had, as we read in Philippians 2:5-8. My Lord and Savior forgave those who nailed Him to the cross and forgave all my sins. What right do I have to hold something against another believer in God’s family?

A Forgiving Heart: The father in this story displayed the forgiving heart of God in response to genuine repentance. His heart is marked by at least four things:

• Hopeful anticipation. The father never gave up hoping for his son’s repentance, return home and restoration to him. He persevered in prayer, intently looking for the familiar form of his son on the horizon (v.20). This hopeful yearning for restoration was never quenched in the heart of the father.

• Courageous love. The father was willing to humble himself and not conform to the cultural mandate of his day. He did not make his son grovel or beg at his feet for mercy. Instead, in a spontaneous, jubilant act of love, the father ran to embrace his son (v.20).

• Gracious mercy. Forgiveness was joyfully granted because the father sensed repentance in the heart of the son, and restored him to a position of sonship. Such goodness was unheard of in that day (v.22).

• Celebration of repentance. The father planned to celebrate the return of his son. His son was heading in a direction that brought distance to their relationship and interrupted their fellowship, but now he was alive and reconciled to his father (vv.23-24).

This is a beautiful picture of God’s forgiving heart. God is the first Seeker in the Bible, as we see in the garden after Adam and Eve sinned (Gen. 3:8-9). Now in the person of His Son, He still seeks the lost (Lk. 19:10). He is a loving God, wanting to restore all to Himself. God is rich in mercy and grace, and great in His love toward those who are away from Him (Eph. 2:1-10). He is able and willing to forgive you today, whether you are lost in your sins and need to be reconciled to Him or are at a distance from Him because even though you are a Christian you have allowed sin in your life and need to return to Him in repentance. He is waiting. Will you come to Him now?

An Unforgiving Heart. The older son – a type of the Pharisees who were listening to the Lord Jesus (Lk. 15:2-3) – is a study in the stubborn refusal to forgive. That attitude is characterized by:

• Hardness. There was unwillingness on the older son’s part to consider the restoration of his younger, foolish brother. The older one felt justifiably cold toward his brother, and he was outraged that his father would still want a relationship with a son who had so deeply offended him (v.28).

• Demand for revenge. The son who had remained at home wanted to immediately punish his brother for what he had done rather than focus on what had changed in his heart. He wanted to make his brother pay for his sin. The older brother had no mercy and no desire for reconciliation (v.28).

• Arrogant refusal to celebrate. The older son withheld fellowship from his brother and his father (v.28). He missed an opportunity for joy and celebration because he was preoccupied with himself and his hurt. The loving heart of the father that longed for restoration was outside of the older son’s view. Instead, the son angrily withdrew in self-justified indignation and smugness over being right, and he refused to recognize that what he was doing was causing just as much pain to his father as had been caused by his younger brother.

The refusal to forgive indicates a rebellious, stubborn heart that has not drunk deeply of the water of grace and mercy at the well of God’s forgiveness (7:47). Our unwillingness to love those who have harmed us reflects our own failure to understand how much God loves us. Peter reminded us of this when he described seven essential, progressive graces which culminate in godliness, brotherly kindness and love (see 2 Pet. 1:5-7). Then he wrote: “If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins” (vv.8-9).

Paul said, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor [loud quarrelling], and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Eph. 4:30-5:2). Did you notice those phrases “even as God in Christ forgave you” and “as Christ also loved us”? I am to forgive even as He forgave me, and I am to love as He loves me – anything less and I’m falling short.

This older son never changed his heart, and as far as we know he continued to be unhappy and miserable. He apparently never entered into the joy of his father.

We need to look in the mirror of Scripture and ask ourselves individually about the repentant heart, the forgiving heart and the unforgiving heart. Which of these three types of hearts describes me?

By Timothy P. Hadley

When we find ourselves heating up with anger, we should stop immediately, cool down and examine the situation before proceeding. We should never continue on in a heated-up condition. Why not? It is because doing so could well lead to sin, to shaming ourselves and possible hurting others. We all get angry – some more often than others. If we respond to the warning, we will not only bring our anger under control and avoid sinning, but maybe we can even turn our anger to good for God. Consider the following examples. For Moses, the warning came when the Lord told him there was idol-making in the camp below. He had the trek down Mt. Sinai to consider what action to take when he faced the sinning people. David had a chance to kill sleeping Saul, who had tried to kill him. He controlled his vengeful anger and was blessed. Instead of getting angry at the sinful conditions in Corinth, Paul penned a corrective letter that restored that church, and has been a great help to other assemblies ever since. In Titus 1:7, Paul said that controlling one’s temper is a prerequisite for elders. James 1:19 generalizes this and says, “let every man be … slow to wrath” (NKJV). It is possible to be angry and not sin, if we stop and seek God’s help as soon as possible. —Larry Ondrejack (adapted from The Lord Is Near, August 27, 1998)