Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Love Colossians 1:20-22, NIV. “… and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-“ This afternoon I’d like to share a message with you titled, “Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Love.” According to statistical data from Norway, there have been 14,530 wars in the last 5,560 years. When we calculate the average, there have been 2.6 wars every year. This also means that people spent 550 billion U.S. dollars for those wars every year. Across the globe about 35,000 people die from starvation every day. Human history is like a history of war.? The earth abounds with ongoing news of battles and bloodshed. Behind the scenes of war and slaughter, there is hatred and hostility, and Satan is behind the hatred and hostility. Any doctrine or philosophy that has hatred as its basis comes from Satan?not from God. 1. The forgiveness, reconciliation, and love of God. Forgiveness, reconciliation, and love are what God wants to give us. Tempted by the devil, Adam and Eve turned away from God. They rebelled against God when they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were cast out of the Garden of Eden. They became traitors. From that time on, they became the enemies of God. The devil was happy to see that. Jesus said in John 8:44, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The devil is the father of lies. He deceives. He makes people hate each other by deceiving them. Hitler killed 6 million Jews and as many as 17 million civilians during the war. He was known as a person with strong willpower. Some say, “Wow, he’s someone with tenacious willpower.” But he acted by a little whisper that he heard. Hitler listened to the small voice of the devil, and he did many cruel things. According to a war recording of a Nazi, there was a confession by Hitler’s pilot. He said, “Once in a while when he acted crazy, he was totally out of his mind. He made loud noises and screamed, scratched the carpet on the floor, and he broke everything near him. Later, he was absolutely captured by the devil and made predictions.” The reason Hitler killed so many people was because the devil was behind him. The devil controlled him to kill and destroy. We must realize that the devil is always behind hatred and destruction. In our individual hearts, a little hatred or a little curse is all from the devil, not from God. Satan has brought hatred and hostility between people, and he made us enemies with God. It’s not from human beings, not from God but from Satan. Satan came to us to steal and kill and destroy. But through the Cross of Jesus, God did away with hatred and hostility and brought reconciliation and love. Two thousand years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus to the world. He took away all curses and sin. His body was wounded. He shed His blood. He forgave us and brought reconciliation between God and us. In one hand He holds God’s hand, and in the other hand He holds the hand of humankind. He put those hands together on the Cross. We came just as we were with empty hands, sin, and rejection. We surrendered before God. All we have to do is just come before God. God will hold our hand and shake our hand. Reconciliation will take place. Colossians 1:20-22?says, “…and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation….” We were enemies of God. Even though we pray to God, He will not listen to the prayer of an enemy. But now through Jesus Christ we have peace with God. Through His grace, we can live a righteous, victorious, and glorious life. Whenever we call on the name of the Lord God, He is there for us. Now we are close to God because of reconciliation and love. God is within us, and we are in God, living a beautiful life. In the Bible, we see God's people, and they’re all people of forgiveness. Stephen fell on his knees and prayed for people who stoned him and tried to kill him, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And he died. Look at Joseph. Out of jealousy, his brothers sold him as a slave to Egypt. He went through all kinds of suffering. Later, he met his brothers in Egypt. He said, “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Genesis 45:5). He didn’t hate them. On the contrary, he comforted them and gave them words of forgiveness. David forgave Saul who had been trying to kill him. David forgave his son, Absalom, who wanted his father’s throne and rebelled against him. He also forgave Shimei who insulted him by throwing stones when he fled from Absalom. When Jesus suffered and was crucified on the Cross for the sins of humankind, He didn’t say to the people who laughed at him and cursed Him, “Hey, you’re going to pay for this. When I come back as Lord of lords and King of kings, I’ll pull out all of your hair!” Did He say this? No. Even when they shook their heads and spat on Him, cursing, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” He prayed for forgiveness, “They don’t know they’re crucifying the Son of God. They don’t know whom they’re cursing, the coming Lord of lords and King of kings who will judge the world. Forgive them.” The God of eternal love destroyed hostility and the hatred of the devil through the Cross of Jesus but brought reconciliation and love through the Holy Spirit. 2. Hatred and revenge are destructive viruses. Brothers and sisters, hatred and revenge are destructive viruses. Recently, many people are worrying about a new type of virus. In comparison with the destructive viruses of hatred and revenge, this new virus is nothing. Proverbs 14:30?says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” When you envy, it hurts your bones. If your bones rot, how can your skin be all right? Proverbs 12:16?says, “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” It would be better to overlook an insult. If we can’t control our hot temper, we’ll be injured. There was a principal in an elementary school who suffered from arthritis. Medical treatment wasn’t helpful at all. She invited a pastor to pray for her. The pastor asked her, “When did your joint problem start?” “After I divorced my husband.” “When did you divorce your husband?” “About 10 years ago.” “Are you still angry with him? Do you hate him even right now?” “Yes, I do.” “Ten years ago you ended the relationship. Why are you thinking about him and cursing him now? Legally you’re divorced. Let him go from your heart. Stop hating him and bless him. Stop cursing him or your arthritis will get worse because of your hatred. Change your mind, stand before God, and let God take care of your feelings. Let your ex-husband go.” As she prayed, she was crying. She repented and said good bye to her ex-husband. She said good bye 10 years ago on paper, but now in her heart she let him go at last. From that time on, her pain started going away. She is getting better and better, and one day she will be completely healed. Brothers and sisters, vengeance and hatred destroy our heart first. Why do we need to forgive our enemy? It’s because of us. If we hate our enemy, we’ll be injured. To be free from suffering, we should forgive others, and shake off hatred from our heart. If we hate somebody, it takes root in our heart and produces suffering. Get rid of hatred and revenge. They destroy relationships with our neighbors. Proverbs 10:12?says, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.” Hatred exposes all mistakes. It brings dissension constantly. But love covers all wrongs. It comforts the brokenhearted and encourages people to become one. Psalm 37:8?says, “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret?it leads only to evil.” Refrain from anger and turn from wrath! From anger and wrath come only evil things?not good things. If hatred and wrath take control of our heart, they’ll set our whole life on fire. Our whole life will turn into a hell. Whether we sleep or wake, eat or drink, they’ll always chase after us like a consuming fire. James 3:14-16?says, “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” Where there is bitter envy and selfish ambition, there must be chaos with the devil. The devil brings envy, wrath, and quarrels. He sets the fire of bitterness. He steals our peace and kills and destroys our life. There is a politician whom I most respect, Nelson Mandela, the first president of South Africa. For 26 years, he was in prison on an isolated island. He was treated as a political offender. Visitors were allowed only once every six months. Only one letter was allowed. White separatists hated him, because he is black. He suffered a lot and was put into prison. His mother passed away in the fourth year while he was in prison. His son died in a car accident, but he could not even attend his son’s funeral. His wife and daughters were driven out from their home. His second daughter was suffering from depression. In the 14th year of prison, his first daughter visited him with her first baby. She had asked him in her letter to choose a name for the baby. He passed a note to her. When she carefully opened it, she was overwhelmed with emotion. She wailed. He had written “Azwie,” which means “hope”. In the midst of despair, a grandfather named his granddaughter “hope”. He never gave up. He finally got out of prison and became the president of the Republic of South Africa. Maybe it was time for revenge! He now had power, and there were apartheid members who had put him in jail for almost a lifetime. Everybody was expecting that some kind of revenge would take place. The first step he took was to establish the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).” The first chairman of the TRC was an archbishop at that time. He tried to renew the society on the basis of forgiveness and reconciliation. He cut the vicious cycle of revenge. I was moved by his right spirit. Even though he went through difficulty and persecution for a long time, he made up his mind to have a peaceful country. Hatred and revenge were rampant in South Africa, but he entered the future with forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace. Hatred and revenge devastate the soul and body. They destroy relationships with our neighbors. Through the Cross of Jesus, God breaks the hatred and revenge of this world. He brings us reconciliation and love. Therefore, we should also forgive and love one another. We prayed for world peace and for our country, but if we’re captured by hatred in our heart, God will not answer our prayer. World peace is far away. Our prayers will not be heard if we have hostility and hatred in our heart. 1 John 4:20?says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” If we don’t love our brothers, whom we have seen, how can we say, “Oh, I love God,” whom we have not seen? It’s a lie. God takes this so seriously. With hatred and wrath in our heart, we can’t say that we love God. 3. The way to live a life of forgiveness. Throughout our life, we have to choose the way of forgiveness. How can we forgive? Usually, we regard somebody as an enemy because he is different from us. Nobody is the same. We must accept the differences of others through understanding and dialogue. I have no right to claim that you should be just like me. Everybody has his or her own personality. We need to reach out to one another through communication. Ephesians 4:32?says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Be nice to each other. We need more understanding and compassion, forgiveness and love toward each other. We need to acknowledge and try to understand each other. Understanding and conversation will lead us to an open field where we can meet and get to know each other better and forgive each other. And remember, God is the one who makes a righteous judgment. It seems like God keeps silent, but He is watching us. As one sows, so shall he reap. Proverbs 20:22 says, “Do not say, ‘I'll pay you back for this wrong!’ Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.” Romans 12:19?says, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” God is love, but He also takes revenge. There’s a bottom line. God doesn’t allow evil to overflow its limits. The Bible says, “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away” (Psalm 37:1-2). It’s foolish to believe that I can prosper continually by doing evil. The Creator of the universe is still on His throne. When the time comes, God will make them wither and die away. So let us not take revenge but leave room for God’s wrath. Jesus says in Matthew 6:12-15, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” This is serious. If we pray to Jesus for His forgiveness but we don’t forgive others but keep hating them, then we cannot expect to receive the power of the blood of Jesus on the Cross. Just as we are forgiven by our Heavenly Father, we should also forgive our neighbors. It is not we but God who takes revenge. Matthew 18:21?says, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’” Peter boasted that he was a generous person, “When my brother sins against me, I can forgive him even up to seven times!” Peter is much better than I am! I can’t forgive up to seven times. Maybe he thought that was more than enough! But far beyond his expectation, Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” For Peter, seven times was the maximum. But Jesus said “seven times seventy.” That is 490 times! He demands us to forgive over our limitation. We can’t do that. Sometimes this verse has been hard for me. I even want to close my eyes to that verse. Why did God write this Bible verse? God is better than everything. His wisdom is higher than our imagination. God gave us this verse, because we need this verse. He does not want us to have an unforgiving heart. The last step to forgiveness is to erase the wrong doings of our brother in our memory. Erase them completely from our heart! If we forgive the sins of others, God will not remember our sins. To forget is one of the miracles of God! If we repent repeatedly about our past sins, He’ll say, “What are you talking about?” “Father, I committed this sin before.” “I don’t remember it!” God’s forgiveness includes the fact that He forgets our sins completely! Hebrews 8:12?says, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” God will not remember our sins anymore. If even God doesn’t remember them, how about if I remember them and talk about them repeatedly? If we have truly repented of our sins, God has erased them for eternity. Isaiah 44:22?says, “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” How precious to hear that God has erased our sins from His memory. John Brockman introduced the 121 greatest inventions in the last 2000 years through his book, The Next Fifty Years: Science in the First Half of the Twenty-First Century (2002): the printing machine, electricity, airplane, computer and internet were included, but the surprising thing was “eraser”. It was also in the list. According to John Brockman, since the eraser was invented, the culture of recording has greatly developed. When musicians composed music, if they made mistakes, they would tear up the paper and start all over again. But since the invention of the eraser, they would just rub off the mistakes and continue to write a new song. A painter can make mistakes while he sketches. But with an eraser, he can easily rub off his mistakes and sketch a new line. Great masterpieces by musicians and painters cannot be completed without an eraser. Our great Creator God also used an eraser called the forgiveness of Jesus on the Cross, for us who make so many mistakes. Without this eraser, we could not get out of the swamp of unfixable mistakes and sin in our lives. When you embrace the Cross of Jesus, you are on the way to forgiveness, and you can erase the painful memories from your heart. Embrace the Cross of Jesus, and forget about the wrongs of what your husband did, what your wife did, what your children did, and what your parents did! Forget about the sins of your neighbors. It’s impossible to do so by yourself. We are able to forgive only through the blood of Christ. Embrace the blood of Jesus and erase wrongs, shake off bitter grudges, forgive sin, and bring reconciliation and love into your life. This is the true life of a Christian. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). On the Cross, God erased all our sins and with open arms, He is waiting for us. He doesn’t care about what we did but accepts us as we are. He loves us. Without this generous forgiveness, reconciliation, and love of God, we can’t stand before Him even for one day. Even now we can’t pray without His grace. But God is stretching out His hand toward us. With joy, He opens His heart and says, “Throw yourself into my arms. Trust in me. Believe and ask me. I’ll be with you.” Brothers and sisters, we love and trust this God. We will do God’s will in our lives. It is easy to talk about forgiveness when you are an observer. However, when you are put in an actual situation, it is never as easy to forgive as it is to talk about forgiveness. But eliminating the viruses of hatred and hostility through forgiveness will bring us greater peace of mind and happiness. Let’s pray together. Dear Heavenly Father, Hatred, grudges, and hostility are everywhere in this world. They always stay in our hearts. But God, You have erased all the hatred and grudges through the blood of Jesus Christ. O Father, we would like to embrace the Cross of Jesus. Please help us to erase all the grudges and hatred. Let us bring forgiveness, reconciliation, and love. How are we supposed to stand before You, if You remember every single sin we committed? How can we love our neighbors if we still remember all the past and still judge them? Father God of love, reconciliation, and grace, let us live in the power of the Holy Spirit, and make us a peacemaker who brings Your love and reconciliation to others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.