Forgiveness on the Road to Righteousness

A few weeks ago I pulled into a Kroger parking lot to witness what I thought was going to be a very bad episode of road rage. A man in a big black Dodge pickup was laying on his horn while following another person in a Nissan SUV. As soon as the both of them stopped in the parking lot the young man in the SUV got out and immediately said, “Man, I am so sorry. I didn’t see you coming and did not mean to cut you off back there.” I could tell the older gentleman in the pickup was a bit flustered by this. From the rolled down window of his pickup truck he mumbled out something like, “It’s okay, I was probably going a little too fast when you pulled out. Just be careful next time.” Then the pickup truck drove off. I imagine that the pickup driver had every intention to lay into the Nissan driver, but was caught by surprise with an apology. As easily as the conflict started, it ended.

I wish more road rage interactions ended like this, actually I wish most of our conflicts with other people ended like this. In the Kroger parking lot, not only had one person been truly apologetic for what they had done, but you also had someone that was willing to forgive them for it. The pickup truck driver even went as far to acknowledge his part in the conflict. Being apologetic and forgiving is not easy for many of us because pride gets in the way. We become so confident in our own righteousness of a situation that it makes it difficult for us to apologize or forgive. As Christians, we should do our best to remember that we all fall short of righteousness on our own. If any of us were truly righteous apart from God’s grace, we would not have needed Jesus.

Jesus teaches that the road towards righteousness is not travelled without forgiveness. In the Lord’s Prayer, that Jesus taught the disciples, we acknowledge that on our journey towards the kingdom of heaven, we are not only to seek forgiveness but also to forgive others. By seeking forgiveness we humble ourselves and acknowledge the ways in which we live that harm our relationship with God and others. By seeking to forgive we humble ourselves and acknowledge that on this journey others will make the same mistakes we do.

As I am writing this blog, I am thankful that the road rage incident that I witnessed in the Kroger parking lot ended with forgiveness. I have seen the news reports of situations similar to this ending very badly. The wrong done in a matter of seconds has often led to lives being forever changed for the worse. Today, when you experience conflict may the words we prayer in the Lord’s prayer come true for you. Lord, forgive us our trespasses as we also forgive those who trespass against us. Amen.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church