Lauriault: Forgiveness something that can be extended

I needed help recently in a critical situation and one of our children stepped up to meet the need.

I was proud of him and appreciative so I promised he could watch a movie by himself in the basement free of any distraction by his siblings. That's actually the favor he did — distracting his siblings with a movie downstairs so I could finish my most recent newspaper article.

You know me; I worked that incident into another article and might get two out of it.

Here's the rest of the story. The free movie reward was given on Saturday. By Sunday morning, he was less than helpful as we got ready for church, which is unusual for him. Nonetheless, I considered rescinding his reward. Then I remembered how God treats us regarding our sins and the parent-child relationship I have with this child (Psalm 103:8-14).

When we repent and enter into the new covenant relationship with God, he removes our sin from us and forgets them forever (Jeremiah 31:33-34). That being said, he also forgets any good someone has done if they turn to a life of sin without repentance (Ezekiel 18:21-32).

Now for my dilemma: I'm human and I cannot forget some of the sins I've committed in the past (Psalm 51:3). On the other hand, while I can also remember when others have sinned against me, I've concluded that those sins don't matter because love can cover a multitude of sin (1 Peter 4:8). I also can remember the good things they've done even if our relationship has gone sour. That can be exasperating because we usually want to be justified in holding grudges.

So, I must admit that I was a little irritated with myself when I decided to let my child keep his reward despite the fact that his behavior had reverted. Still, I realized that, like all of us, he has good and bad behavior and is often repentant when he considers his actions.

While God expects perfection from us and demonstrated that possibility through Jesus' fully human life on earth, he also realizes the power of our earthly nature and our weak flesh (1 Peter 1:14-15; 1 John 3:9-10; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Romans 7:14-25; Matthew 26:41). So, he continues to extend his grace, not treating us as we deserve, but giving us opportunities to repent before we go too far afield (2 Peter 3:9; Hebrews 6:4-6).

This doesn't mean we can go on sinning at will, but it does mean that as long as we breathe, we can come to our senses and seek forgiveness and receive it (Luke 15:11-24; 1 John 1:5-9; Matthew 18:21-22). Being forgiven and remaining in the covenant relationship with God is also predicated on being forgiving of others (Matthew 6:14-15; Colossians 3:13-14; James 4:17). To withhold forgiveness is to fall short of perfection (Matthew 5:43-48).

Don't cause God to forget the good you've done just because you're holding a grudge.

Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan. Contact him at [email protected]