Understanding forgiveness requires us to ask what divine forgiveness means. If there is any meaning in the Incarnation, it is through the human that we ascend to the divine. I don’t think it is beneficial to look at the Greek or English words for the act’s primary thought. Forgiveness means “a sending away” in English, “a giving away.” It will be sufficient to look at the feelings related to the actions of what we call forgiveness.

A man may say, “I forgive, but I cannot forget. I never want to see the person again.” What level does such forgiveness reach? Does it reach remission or send away the penalties for which the injured believes he can claim against the offender? No, here there is no sending away of the injury between them.

Again, a man can say, “He has done a terrible thing, but he has the worst of it that he is capable of doing something like this. I hate him too much to care for revenge. I will ignore it. I forgive him; I really don’t care.” Here again, there is no sending away of the injury between them, no remission of the sin.

A third will say, “I know I must forgive him, for if I don’t forgive him, God will not forgive me.” Insofar as a base of sympathy, this person is a little nearer to the truth, but only by recognizing the common sin, they have between them.

Another will say, “He has injured me terribly. It is an awful thing to me and even more awful that he has done this to himself. He has hurt me, but he has nearly killed himself. I will not cause him any more injury from it. I do not feel the same toward him yet, but I will try to help him see it and acknowledge what he has done to free him from it. Then, perhaps, I can return to my previous feelings for him. To this end, I will show him all the kindness I can. Not forcing it on him, but taking every reasonable opportunity, not in the hope of any personal gain or advantage from him, but because I love him and want him to be reconciled and free to be his true self. I will send it away. I will destroy what has come between us. I will hope that he will also destroy it by renouncing it completely.”

Which of these comes nearest to the divine idea of forgiveness? Closest to removing the distance between them, the distance that is as far as the heavens are above the earth.

For God created us, and His creative power far exceeds ours. It is the Divine that originates forgiveness in itself, shapes our forgiveness, and so much more. Forgiveness takes up our wrongs, both small and great, along with the presence of sadness and sorrow. It removes them from between our God and us.

“Jesus Christ is God’s forgiveness!”

God is so much more and comes so much nearer to us than a human father can be or come. Before we go any closer to this great revelation, let us consider human forgiveness as seen in a relationship between a father and his son. Fatherhood is the last and highest stair from which our understandings can see him from afar, and our hearts can know that He is near, even in us!

There are various kinds and types of wrong-doing. Each requires different forms of forgiveness. For instance, a sudden outburst of anger in a child barely needs forgiveness. The wrong is so small that the parent only needs to influence the child towards self-restraint and rallying his will against it. The father will not feel that a fault like this has built up any wall between them.

How differently would he feel, though, if he discovers a habit of deceitfulness and cruelty to his younger brothers or the pets in the home?  Would his forgiveness be the same as before? Would not the different fault require another form of forgiveness, a different response? Perhaps, a punishment suitable for restraining it in the hope of removing the cruelty? Could anything short of this come from real love? Ignoring or setting aside the offense would come from human weakness but never from divine love. Forgiveness is never indifference, but rather,  is love expressed to the unlovely!

Let’s look closer at the father’s feelings and how they are expressed. In one child, in the moment of the offense, the father would embrace the child, knowing that his love would destroy the fault in him. The father’s hatred toward the child’s actions expressed in his tenderness to the child who committed such a wrong would reach the fault and destroy it. This sin then would create no break in their relationship, forgiveness given to the child at once.

But the handling of another type of sin would be dealt with entirely differently. If the child was guilty of meanness, selfishness, deceit, or happiness at others’ suffering, the father might say to himself, “I cannot forgive him. This wrong is beyond forgiveness.” He might say this to himself while looking for the path to forgiveness to lift his child from where he has fallen.

His love might increase for the child because of his lostness. For love is divine. It loves according to the need rather than the merit! But this type of forgiveness would only be the beginning of the process in drawing the offender near. Not until the child opens his heart to this forgiving love, meeting it with his own passion, will it be swept away. Only in this way can the child be said to be forgiven.

God forgives us every day! He sends away what is between us and Him, our darkness and sin! Observe the setting sun, the falling of His rain, the filling of our hearts with food and gladness. God’s goodness is evidence the He loves those that do not love Him! When sin and darkness have clouded our vision, hiding Him from us, He forgives us where we are. He sweeps a path so His forgiveness can reach our hearts. This love is causing repentance, dispelling our darkness, and freeing us to forgive ourselves. For some of us are too proud to forgive ourselves until the forgiveness of God has its way in us.

He looks at this as the ongoing contact between His heart and ours, destroying that which is between us. Honestly, we can say God’s love precedes His forgiveness! Love is His motivation, ever working to consummate His forgiveness. His love needs our participation in its fulfillment. His love is perfect in working out forgiveness. He loves when we are not yet ready or able because, in the fullest sense, it is not yet possible, for our hearts are closed. And what lies between us has not been submitted to His consuming fire and been destroyed.

As between a father and his child, some things may be seen comparatively as in-process and can be taken lightly. By this, I do not mean less seriously because no sin can remain, but that sin and darkness in themselves cannot destroy us. That is consume us, leaving no room in our hearts for the presence of God’s Spirit to forgive and cleanse away the evil. When we begin experiencing this freedom, we are growing in the Life, which is our lives — becoming perfect in God’s will, letting it do its work in our hearts and minds.

Once we can wholeheartedly cast away our sins, there is no longer any need for forgiveness. We are living then in union with Him. When Nathan said to David, “You are the man.” Forgiveness laid hold of him, and the king’s heart was humbled. When he awoke from the moral slumber that had overtaken him, he found that God was still with him. “When I awake,” he said, “I am still with you.”