So sinners wrought
For Him the Kingdom He had vainly sought,
And to His feet the world's frankincense brought._
V
LOVE AND FORGIVENESS
In these instances it is the singular completeness of Christ's
forgiveness which is the most startling feature. It would be a libel on
human nature to say that men do not forgive each other, but human
forgiveness usually has reservations, reticences, conditions. Jesus
taught unlimited forgiveness, and what He taught He practiced.
"_Then came Peter, and said to Him, 'Lord, how oft shall my brother sin
against me and I forgive him? Until seven times?' Jesus said unto him,
'I say not unto thee, until seven times; but until seventy times seven.'_"
It is a vehement reply, in which a quiet note of scorn vibrates; not
scorn of Peter, but scorn of any kind of love that is less than
limitless. But whose love is limitless? Do we not commonly speak of
love as being outworn by offense or neglect? In the compacts which we
make with one another in the name of love, do we not specifically name
certain offenses as unpardonable? Thus one man will say, "I can forgive
anything but meanness," and another says, "no friendship can survive
perfidy"; and in the relations between men and women unfaithfulness is
held to cancel all bonds, however indissoluble they may seem.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40