Love and Forgiveness
“Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.’” (Numbers 14:17-18 NLT)
A couple of interesting things are happening in this text. The spies have returned from their Canaan operative and eight of them have issued a bad report. It appears that the Promised Land is currently inhabited and the Israelites will need to trust God for supernatural intervention if they are to possess it. The people hear the report and tailspin. They respond as if they have never seen God move; weeping, carrying on all night until they plot an insurrection and a stoning.
God had enough. His people kept losing sight of His past performance record and He was sick of it. He was ready to wipe these whining, miserable people off the face of the earth like we might clean a crumby countertop. He was ready to start from scratch with Moses.
“I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!” (Numbers 14:12 NLT)
Here we have a classic case of good parent, bad parent. Moses, at this particular moment in history, is unwilling to give up on the kids. There are other moments in the wildness where Moses is the mad parent, ready for destruction. When we consider this connection, we are reminded of the incredible friendship Moses shared with God. This level of intimacy with the divine was previously unheard of.
“Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” (Exodus 33:11 NLT)
We sang about it in church yesterday; “I am a friend of God” and I am realizing how Moses’ friendship with God paved the way for our own friendships with God. It was with Moses that God seemed to realize how sweet His post-fall interaction with man might be. Moses knew God’s heart so well that when God was too angry to see straight, Moses reminded Him of His divine character.
Isn’t that how CS Lewis defined friendship?
“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you’ve forgotten the words.”
Moses was God’s friend. And he wasn’t afraid to hold his Friend to His Word. He reminded God that love and forgiveness were the most powerful entities we can wield.
When we are mad, when we are hurt and ready to lash out in anger, isn’t that what we need to hear most? Love and forgiveness are the mightiest weapons in this world. Nuclear power cannot compare to a heart humbled and offered to an enemy. We can change the course of history when we can figure out how to love and forgive in the midst of anger and hurt.
My big brother is on my mind this morning. He’s getting ready to wheel back for brain surgery. He’s lived with us for almost a year now. A terrible fire left him totally reliant on others; severe tremors rack his body every waking moment. The neurosurgeon who will place electrodes deep in his brain noted his chart: ”Mr. Klapp and his sister enjoy a warm relationship.”
I read that and I saw firsthand the world-rocking power of love and forgiveness typed out in black and white print. Chris and I have not always been close. In fact, growing up I preferred to stay as far away from him as possible because he was so cruel to me. But a couple of decades ago at a youth leaders retreat the Lord asked me to forgive him and I did. Ten years after that, the Lord asked me to love him and because of the divine love and forgiveness I have enjoyed so freely, I obliged. Look what the Lord has done in our lives since!
Love and forgiveness are the two most powerful forces in the universe and when we wield them we align our hearts and minds with God’s heart and mind. Crazy Kingdom things happen and He gets the glory.
Moses somehow inherently knew this and when God got angry, he sang Him back His own song. Can we sing along today? Can we love and forgive the folks that raise our blood pressure and curl our fists? Can we value the Kingdom over our commitment to being right? In my experience, the hardest thing is usually the rightest thing. And the right thing plus time and perspective winds up being the most satisfying move we can make.
“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 NLT)
“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32 NLT)
Dear Lord, we see in scripture just how frustrating humanity can be. And yet You love us. We are thankful for this example with Moses
; the example of Your anger juxtaposed with Your love and forgiveness. We see how tough the struggle is to let people off the hook, and yet You triumphed. So can we. Help us to walk in the understanding that love and forgiveness are the most powerful forces we possess. Amen.