Why is God so forgiving?

AND why should we, like God, be forgiving also? These questions can rise after reading that gospel episode where St. Peter asked Christ how many times should he forgive someone who has offended him. (cfr. Mt 18,21-35) St. Peter dared to suggest, 7 times, which already meant a lot. But Christ told him, not only seven times, but seventy times seven times, which practically means always. 

 The quick answer to these questions is that no matter how we are to God and to each other, we will always remain children of God and brothers and sisters to each other. As such, we are meant to love God and everybody else, irrespective of how we behave. And it is forgiveness which is the ultimate form of love. 

 If God, in Christ, loves us so much that he became man and went all the way to offer his life for us, and if we are children of God who are supposed to be like God, then we too should have a love for God and for one another that is boundless. 

 Christ’s boundless love for us is shown not only in the fact that he offered his life for us—and as St. John said, “Greater love has no than this, that a man lays down his life for his friends” (Jn 15,13)—but he also offered forgiveness to those who crucified him. (cfr. Lk 23,34) 

 We should just learn how to be forgiving the way God in Christ is always forgiving us. And the reason is because by always forgiving, we liken ourselves with God, with Christ, who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. Forgiving is the ultimate act of love which is the very essence of God and which is also intended for us since we are supposed to be God’s image and likeness. 

 Thus, we have to learn to be forgiving always of others, no matter how undeserving we feel they are of forgiveness. That’s how God forgave us. He took the initiative. He offered forgiveness and continues to do so if only to bring us back to him. 

 The awareness of this truth should also help us to develop the attitude to forgive one another as quickly as possible, since that is the only way we can learn to love. When we find it hard to forgive others, it is a clear sign that we are full of ourselves, are self-righteous, proud and vain. 

 We have to continually check on our attitude towards others because today’s dominant culture is filled precisely by the viruses of self-righteousness, that feeling that we are superior to others, etc. We have to do constant battle against that culture that undermines our duty to be always forgiving. 

 Obviously, to be always forgiving, we need to make a lot of sacrifice since we have to conquer our pride. Forgiveness is a real game-changer since with it we would be willing to let go of whatever hurt and anger we may have. It actually takes a huge weight off our shoulders. 

 Pride often stems from the feeling that we have been wronged or disrespected. But with forgiveness, we can manage to let go of that feeling, enabling us to be stronger than our ego. It’s not actually about letting someone off the hook. The guilty still has to face the consequences of his acts. But with forgiveness, we free ourselves from negative vibes. 

 With forgiveness, we can manage to be at peace with anyone even as we continue to sort out things to fix whatever problem or issue we may have at hand.

God is always merciful

CONSIDERING our proneness to sin, we should always remember that there is always hope because God’s mercy is ever available for us. While we should try our best to avoid sin, we know that we can only go so far. We should not anymore make a big issue about this fact of life. Let’s just accept it and align our reaction to it in accordance with God’s ways of dealing with our sinfulness. 

 In this regard, it is good to keep in mind a psalm that articulates this kind of attitude. It’s from Psalm 130, 7 which says: “Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” 

 Yes, with our sinfulness we need to remind ourselves that not everything is lost. On the contrary, such misfortune has also brought about a greater blessing from above. “O happy fault,” we sing in the Easter Vigil hymn of the Exsultet, and that is because our sinfulness has brought about a greater blessing from God. Due to our sin, God became man and gave us a way of how to handle the consequences of our sins. 

 In this regard, we can cite St. Paul’s words as being very relevant. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Rom 5,20) And we can also relish these beautiful words from the Book of Ezekiel: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord God. Would I not prefer he turns from his ways and live?” (18,23) 

 Our sins and everything related to them should not separate us from God. If ever, they should make us all the more eager to go to God, always convinced that forgiveness will always be given as long as we have the proper disposition. God never tires in forgiving us. His love for us is much greater than the gravest offense we can make against him. 

 Let us always remember that it is definitely a sign of the devil’s wiles and lies when we feel that we should run away, ashamed and afraid, from God after falling into some sin. When we sin, the first thing to do is to go immediately to God to ask for forgiveness which will always be given. 

 Just the same, we have to realize the gravity of our sin and do something about our vulnerability to it. We have to learn how to avoid the occasion of sin, temptations and sin itself. We have to learn how to wage an abiding spiritual combat against the enemies of God and of our soul. 

 But we should try to avoid abusing the goodness and mercy of God. In this regard, we have to form our conscience well so that we would know how to protect and defend ourselves from sin and temptations, how to know and judge our moral acts properly, etc. 

 Sad to say, we can suspect that there are already quite a number of people and even large portions of societies all the over the world that seem to have lost the sense of sin. And as a consequence, many cases of depression and suicides are now reported. Temptations and sin can only give, at best, temporary and fake pleasures, but they wreck great havoc in the lives of people. 

 When we are asked to acknowledge our sins at the beginning of the Mass, let us review the whole drama of our sinfulness and also the assured mercy of God. That’s how we can be realistic about our life here on earth.

The water that springs into life eternal

THAT’S Jesus Christ, of course. That image of him is highlighted in that gospel episode where Christ, tired from his journey, stopped by a well in Sichar and met a Samaritan woman whom he later converted simply by talking about thirst and water. (cfr. Jn 4,5-42) 

 It’s a story that draws attention to the fact that God’s interventions in our life can take place in very ordinary, simple occasions. In fact, it occurs all the time, irrespective of how things are. 

 It brings to mind the truth of our faith that our deepest longing and thirst for unending joy, peace and fulfillment can be satisfied in the ordinary little things of our daily affairs. 

 We should just learn how to find Christ in the little things which comprise most of our day, if not of our whole life. This is not a gratuitous, baseless assertion, an act of fantasizing, of hunting lions in the corridors of the house. 

 This is as real and true as can be. Of course, it requires faith, but if we care to listen to faith, we will, in fact, find it reasonable and practicable, not something quixotic, cocooned in the realm of the abstract, the absurd and the impossible. 

 Christ is God made man. As God, he is involved in our creation, in our getting into existence. As such, since it’s existence that is involved in creation, he cannot withdraw from us, since by doing so would be like God withdrawing our existence. Since we obviously exist, ergo, he is in and with us by the very fact of our existence. 

 As God and man, he is our redeemer, the one who, in a manner of speaking, would re-do or re-create us after our original state of humanity has been damaged by our sin. 

 As such, since we all need to be redeemed at all times, he neither can withdraw from us, since by doing so would be like this God-and-man, Jesus Christ, withdrawing from our redemption. Since we need to be redeemed always, Christ is also always with us. He actually cannot help but redeem us, because of his great love for us. 

 We need to be more aware of this reality about ourselves, since we often do not realize it, dominated as we are with the merely material and sensible realities and with what is the here-and-now and what is immediately felt. We many times fail to go beyond this level. 

 As the living water that springs into life eternal, Christ is the only one that can satisfy our spiritual thirst and our deepest longing for connection with God. He offers us a life that never ends even while we are still in this world. He effects in us some kind of inner transformation. 

 And like that Samaritan woman who, when she discovered who Christ really was, went around inviting her friends to see Christ, let us also be eager to bring our friends and everyone we meet to Christ, telling them that Christ offers us the ultimate joy and fulfillment that everyone aspires for. 

 Let’s keep this apostolic zeal burning and spreading, making it as contagious as possible since what Christ offers us really gives us what is truly best for us. Like Christ, let us take advantage of all the ordinary, little events and circumstances of our life to make our friends meet Christ, the living water that springs into life eternal!