Everyone should and must learn how and when to forgive others. However, forgiveness has some inherent limitations. True forgiveness of sins comes only from Almighty God. People may and should forgive others for things in which they have been wronged, but only God has the capacity to forgive transgressions against Himself and His word. Once an individual has trusted Christ as Saviour, he has been forgiven of all trespasses and the shed blood of Christ serves as the sole basis for that forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). Though it is important to seek forgiveness from others whom you may have wronged, everyone must still go directly to the Lord to seek the forgiveness for sins. The forgiveness offered by others cancels the conflict amongst and between them; however, the conflict caused by sin between God and man may still remain even after reconciliation has taken place between individuals.
Compassion forgives. A familiar parable of the Lord displays this truth. A father had two sons. One stayed home with his family and worked the land, while the other son decided to leave and travel the world. Before leaving, he asked for his inheritance (what he would have received upon his father’s death). Instead of being a wise steward with this inheritance, he foolishly wasted it. Afterward, he found himself broke and starving in the middle of a famine. At this point, he would have willingly eaten the swine’s slop. Finally, he decided to return home even if it meant that he would become a servant rather than a son. As he neared the old homestead, his father saw him coming. His father wasted no time but ran to meet and embrace him. Rather than rebuking his son, the father welcomed him back into his home with a renewed relationship.
The Lord expects His followers to demonstrate the same compassion that He has for His creation. Perhaps, the best biblical example is the Samaritan mentioned in Luke chapter 10. The story begins with a man who took a journey to Jericho. On his way, evil men robbed and wounded him. As he struggled for his life, lying on the ground, a priest passed by him. The priest saw the man but passed on the other side. A Levite came and did likewise. Then a Samaritan (a person who was partly Jewish yet bitterly despised by the Jewish people) approached the man in need. Unlike the others, this man stopped and helped the injured man. He bound up the wounds, placed the man on his beast and took him to an inn. He paid for the inn and offered to pay any additional expenses.
God is a compassionate being. The earthly ministry of Christ repeatedly demonstrated this truth. In Luke chapter 7, the Lord entered into a city only to find that a widow (a woman whose husband died) had just lost her only son to death also.It was a very sad time for this dear lady. The loss of her husband had been hard to bear, but her son was a daily reminder of the husband whose love she treasured so greatly. Yet, now the son too was gone. Perhaps the young man worked to help support his mother, but now she was alone without her husband and without their son. Fortunately for this woman, God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4). He intervened on behalf of the woman bringing her son back to life. Her tears of mourning (Luke 7:13) turned into tears of joy.
