The Need for Intervention

While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
–Romans 5:6

One of the barriers that keeps us from forgiving other people is the mistaken belief that the offender has to make the first move. We think that before we can forgive somebody, they have to repent and offer restitution. The problem is that if we keep waiting for our offender to take the first step, we may spend a lifetime stewing in bitterness.

You might say, “I thought we were supposed to forgive other people just as God forgave us. And doesn’t God demand that we repent before we can receive His forgiveness?” Absolutely. But there’s a difference between receiving forgiveness and granting forgiveness. We have to repent in order to receive God’s forgiveness, but that doesn’t keep God from making the first move.

We see a great illustration of this in the first case of forgiveness recorded in the Bible. Look at what happened after Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden: “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8–9). Adam and Eve had lost their way. They were running from God, but God started walking toward them. After explaining the temporal consequences of their sin, God took the initiative in providing a covering for their sin: “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them” (v. 21).

Even though Adam and Eve had to repent in order to receive God’s forgiveness, God intervened and took the first step toward reconciliation. And He did the same thing with you and me. Romans 5:6 says, “While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” As those who’ve been forgiven by God, we ought to be better at extending grace than non-Christians because we understand the need for intervention. If you make your forgiveness of someone dependent on what they do, then you’re going to become their prisoner for life. Repentance is important to receive forgiveness, but not to grant forgiveness.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Moving from Bitterness to Forgiveness” and “The Basis for All Forgiveness,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021 and 2015.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.