The Prophet, Isaiah, said
this:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good
news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who
say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
— Isaiah 52:7 (NIV)
WHILE we are waiting for the unrepentant person to seek our
forgiveness — and such a wait can literally last a lifetime — our duty is to
walk with the feet of readiness to forgive them. We hold matters in tension all
that time. We find God blesses us with his strength in our weakness.
Everyone has these matters to hold in tension. Everyone. Even
the person who has not yet come to us to seek our forgiveness for their
wrongdoing has had people hurt and betray them; possibly even ourselves — which
bears urgent consideration.
Having feet that walk with the readiness to forgive is the
continual work of God’s grace through us.
Whilst we walk with such feet, we are compelled to do what we
can to be ready.
Our task, when we are called upon at their repentance, is to
give them what they need; our ‘undeserved’ favour, which is really not that
undeserved as God’s grace is. But it is a modicum, an imitation, and an
exemplar of grace.
Such a task of readiness to forgive keeps us from becoming
bitter. Becoming bitter would mean we would not be ready at all. But in
preparing to be ready, and in actually being ready, we are ready for to
bequeath the bountiful portents of God’s grace to be poured into their lives at
the proper, God-appointed time. Such grace is not ours to give, but God’s. We
are simply abiding in his will — it’s a simple obedience, nothing more, nothing
less.
***
So there is no need for bitterness,
though we shall struggle with it as we wrestle with God.
We are to walk on. Past bitterness,
we have acceded to the will of him who forgives us our transgressions (see the
Lord’s Prayer — Matthew 6:9-13, with bonus teaching in verses 14-15).
Only if we forgive the repentant
person — and are ready to forgive them in the meantime — will we be forgiven.
We cannot have it both ways.
The transgressor is to repent and
seek forgiveness; they are to be forgiven if and when they seek it. The victim
is to be ready at a moment’s notice. These are the common relational duties in
conflict for those walking with God.
The people who walk with feet ready
to forgive are the people who receive those who walk with the feet ready to
repent and to be forgiven. Both are good news. Both proclaim peace. Both bring
good tidings. Both proclaim salvation. Such is the environment that Isaiah 52:7
highlights.
© 2015 S. J. Wickham.
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