Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World

Let’s face it, the world’s system is that of external standards, measurement, and judgement.  It’s the way it works.  You either meet the teacher’s benchmarks or you fail the class.  You perform to a certain level or get cut from the team.  You meet your boss’s expectations or get fired.  It’s the way of the world and a system that works pretty well for it.

This worldly system has leached it’s way into the church.  So many see God as a taskmaster, cracking the whip when we aren’t performing to His expectations.  We are driven to do and say because we believe that is what is expected.  We judge mainly because we ourselves feel judged.  We measure others because we feel we are being measured.

God’s Kingdom doesn’t work like the world.  It’s an upside down and inside out way of living.  There isn’t something you can do or say to make Him love or save you.  There isn’t a set of rules to follow or a standard to meet.  You aren’t being measured and can’t get cut from the team.

So how do we live in this world when we are not of it?  When we constant “hear” judgement and condemnation, when we feel we are being measured and told we are unworthy, how do we live out God’s truth?  How do we walk in forgiveness and remain in His love?  How do we live in the world’s system without it damaging our soul?

There’s only one way.  By believing God more than our experience in the world.  When we feel unforgiven, run to God and receive forgiveness.  When we feel unworthy, run to God and receive our worth.  When we feel rejected, run to God and receive His acceptance.  It’s believing Him despite our circumstances, despite what the world is telling us to believe about ourself.