Forgiving Jesus
Sometimes I get ideas from my readings or experiences. Something maybe that God is doing in my life or the life of others around me. Today it’s from the devotional I’ve been doing this year, “Restoration Year: A 365-Day Devotional” by John Eldredge. Rather than paraphrase or comment I wanted to just quote the author. (Hopefully this falls under “fair use” since I didn’t get permission)
October 23
YOU NEED TO FORGIVE JESUS
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:12
If you’re holding something in your heart against Jesus, no amount of ignoring it is going to make it go away—the loss of someone you love, pain from your past, simply the way your life has turned out. In order to move forward, you’re going to need to forgive Jesus.
“But Jesus doesn’t need my forgiveness!” you protest. I didn’t say he did. I said that you need to forgive Jesus. To be clear: to forgive a person, you pardon a wrong done to you; “forgiving” Jesus means to release the resentment you hold against him.
This comes before understanding. To see the world the way Jesus did—as a vicious battle with evil, against an enemy that has hated you—ushers understanding that will help you not to blame this stuff on God. But in your hurt, part of you believes Jesus could have done something about it and didn’t. That’s why you need to forgive him. You do this so that this part of you can receive his love.
Perhaps as part of the fruit of that restoration Jesus will be able to explain why things happened the way they did. But dear friend, you need Jesus far more than you need understanding. And so you forgive.
This has proven massively effective for many, many people. We feel abandoned by God in some part of our story; we may even feel betrayed. This is why we must forgive God from our hearts, in order to restore the relationship and receive healing here.
“Restoration Year: A 365-Day Devotional” © 2018 John Eldredge, Thomas Nelson Publishing
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