"The ultimate reason why we may forgive instead of condemn is because God himself does not condemn but forgives. Because he has freely chosen to put tenderness before law, we are authorized to do the same. In the imagery of the parables, God is constantly presented as the father rushing out to meet his son, the absurdly generous farmer who gives the latecomers the same wage as the day-long laborer, the judge hearing the payer of the importunate widow. In the man Jesus the invisible God becomes visible and audible . . . Jesus Christ taught prophetically, in the power of the Spirit, that Christian giving and forgiving should copy God's giving and forgiving. Acceptance is absolute, without inquiry into the past, without special conditions, so that the liberated sinner can live again, accept himself, forgive himself, love himself." Brennan Manning

Posted by Steve Mounts at 5:42 AM

Print Page View Blog Reactions