No Partiality / part 2 / Peter & Cornelius

Throughout history, God seems to believe His Greater Love is more powerfully inclusive than all our flawed and often exclusive understandings—and it is!

And it was…

Ultimately, the early church’s us or them thinking began to change—often with Peter first. Then one day, when the soil of Peter’s heart could bear good fruit, our Father gave him an offensively good vision that was insightful in two ways. First, God seems to like bacon. Second, as it turns out, God really loves Gentiles. You can read about this vision in Acts 10.

But the fruit of this vision is that it empowered and led Peter to visit the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, a heathen, an outsider, one of them. And on that day, Peter discovered a gospel so expansive as to include the whole world in the finished work of the cross—you see, God was present within the Gentiles.

Peter told Cornelius and his household, “Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality.”

That’s worth underlining.

Then Peter began to share the story of Jesus and cruciform love, the Good News. And as he spoke, “…Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter (the us) were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles (the them).” 1

“Then Peter declared, ‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

The answer?

No, of course not!

For nearly a decade, when it came to what the early church believed, Gentiles were out. Then suddenly, Peter discovered what was always true, the Truth that set him free: there is no us or them, no, in or out when it comes to our Heavenly Father and His kids. Peter discovered what Paul later wrote about in Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 2

“And he (Peter) commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” 3

The same Peter, who years earlier swung a sword on behalf of his hierarchal thoughts about clean and unclean, Jew and Gentile, in and out, for and against, suddenly recognized and embraced the inclusive nature of reconciling love for the whole world.

Confronted by God’s goodness, Peter repented of the long-standing exclusion on his ideological and theological lens. He changed his mind and aligned his thoughts and actions with Greater Love—and that’s a big deal!

The willingness to face our offense, and repent of our bias and exclusivity when confronted with the measureless nature of God’s inclusiveness, is the birthplace of personal transformation and an absolute requirement for friends of Jesus—especially leaders who are feeding His sheep.

Peter recognized eternal life in the ever-present now through the infilling Spirit of Christ in Cornelius and his household. Suddenly Peter could see what was always true, revelation—Christ’s image and likeness dwelled within all humanity; “Truly…God shows no partiality!”

Because of this revelation, Peter welcomed you, me, and several billion more into the Family—all creation!

As it turns out, we’re all insiders—every tribe and tongue, all humanity—welcomed sons and daughters, the whole world included in the friendship of the Trinity. As it turns out, the Good News is always more inclusive than we last imagined.

To read part 1, CLICK HERE

1 Acts 10:44-45
2 Galatians 3:28
3 Acts 10:47-48

This article is excerpted from my book, Leaving and Finding Jesus / To read part 1, CLICK HERE

No Partiality / part 1 / The Early Church

The early church, led by Peter and a handful of others, was beautiful—and that’s an understatement. From the moment Holy Spirit burst onto the scene in the upper room, as depicted in Acts 2, there was an evangelistic explosion. With “many wonders and signs,” folks were added to the church daily, weekly, and monthly. 1

Unity marked this early church. The phrases “all together” or “of one accord” can be found five times in the first five chapters of Acts. The power of God displayed by leadership was remarkable. Even Peter’s shadow healed people. 2

Young leaders—most notably, Paul and Timothy, both championed by Barnabas; and later James, championed by Peter—were raised up and commissioned to spread the Good News from village to village and city to city. 3

Miracles occurred at a rate the world had never seen. Yes, there was persecution, and yet the church grew, and “throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria [they] had peace and richly increased in numbers.” 4

The presence of Holy Spirit manifested in every aspect of the church. From Pentecost on, Holy Spirit was present and known to fall “on all who heard the word.” 5

In this beautiful church, sons and daughters grew confident in the love of a good Father! This was a church passionately releasing heaven on earth, the Kingdom within us; a church where righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit were deeply rooted in the soul and every aspect of life. 6

This was also a generous church where the lost were being found, the sick healed, the sinner forgiven and transformed, the lonely placed in family, all who were thirsty could come and drink, and “where they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” 7

All could be saved!

Except, well, anyone who wasn’t Jewish.

So, not literally all, I guess. Just, well, the Jewish all.

In those first nine years or so of the early church, when I write, all could be saved, what I mean is that a small exclusive group of people could be saved; all of the included us, but none of the excluded them could be saved.

Just like today, the understanding of the Good News of Jesus within the church and her leadership was limited, but ever-expanding. In those beautifully formative early church days, the limitation was that only Jews were in.

Imagine a church stunning in fellowship—a church Jesus referenced as “the light of the world, a city set on a hill.” 8 Imagine the revelation of eternal life flowing through their veins. Imagine the power of their evangelism.

Now imagine, because of their tradition, culture, and limited understanding, they only shared this life-transforming Good News with a select few. Imagine meetings like the one I had with those two elders, except it was not just women who weren’t at the table. Most of humanity was excluded, as well.

I know. It’s nearly impossible, but imagine a church interpreting Scripture to reveal Jesus as the Savior of a select group, a people who looked, believed, and acted like them—as though atonement was somehow, limited…

Imagine they interpreted Scripture in ways that separated Gentiles from Jews, in from out, and women from ministry.

I know. It’s difficult, but try to imagine a church experiencing profound revelation, favor, life, joy, and unity while simultaneously living with a heart-breaking limited perspective regarding the all-inclusive nature of our heavenly Father.

You may be picking up on some playful sarcasm. Why? Because it’s relatively easy to imagine this church. You’ve likely participated in it. I certainly have. I don’t write that as a condemning statement. Rather, it is an invitation to daily repent—to mature in reconciling Love.

The early church and her leadership were authentic, sincere, and growing in revelation. At the same time, the early church had a serious flaw on its God lens, the same dualistic hierarchal flaw the church and her leadership continue to discover and repent of today.

“Us or them.”

“In or out.”

“Republican or Democrat.”

“Women and Ministry.”

And I could go on.

The early church knew the transformational Truth of reconciliation. They experienced the kindness that leads to repentance, and they followed a friend of Jesus who knew cruciform love and restoration like few others.

Peter and the early church grew in the revelation of an all-inclusive reconciling love. Yet, even in the daily miraculous manifestation of God’s goodness, for the first nine years or so, the early church seemed oblivious to the devastating us or them flaw on their God lens—especially pertaining to Gentiles… and women in ministry.

God didn’t ignore their delusions nor condemn them for their exclusivity. He just walked beside them as the Wayfaring Stranger and kept speaking to their burning hearts. Like that Farmer who went out to sow seed, Measureless Love just kept sowing into every limitation of their understanding, every delusion, every hierarchy of exclusion, and every cruel and punishing missing of the mark.

To read part 2, CLICK HERE

1 Acts 2:43 & 5:12
2 Acts 5
3 Acts 12
4 Acts 9:31
5 Acts 10:44
6 Romans 14:17
7 Acts 2:45
8 Matthew 5:14

This article is excerpted from my book, Leaving and Finding Jesus / To read part 2, CLICK HERE

Jonah And An Angry God?

One day, God saw Jonah praying and decided He’d listen in.

“I know you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” (Job 4:2) Jonah prayed and, God smiled. It was true, but Jonah didn’t know the half of it.

God was particularly fond of Jonah and wanted him to grow in the revelation of His grace, compassion, and love, for all people. So God invited Jonah to know what was on His heart.

“Hey, Jonah.”

“Yes, God?” Jonah responded with fear and trembling.

“You know I am a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love?”

“Yes, God, I was just saying so,” Jonah responded with enthusiasm. It is wonderful when God agrees with your prayers.

“Jonah, you know those Ninevites?”

Jonah’s face contorted in disgust; he nodded at God knowingly and then spit on the ground. “Yes, filthy foreigners, sinners, every last one!”

God chuckled and shook His head, “Yes, they are so confused that they can’t even tell their right hand from their left. They are so desperately lost that they will destroy themselves if left ignorant of my grace, compassion, and—”

Jonah cackled and finished God’s sentence for Him, “… and good riddance! They are Your enemies, and we hate them!”

God looked at Jonah with love and patience in His eyes, “I have a really good idea—“

Jonah nodded in anticipated agreement and butted in once again, “…Way ahead of you! If I may quote one of my favorite bible verses, ‘the arrogant cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all who do wrong.’” (see Psalm 5:5) Jonah’s tone turned almost gleeful as he asked, “How will You destroy them? Fire? Plague?”

God was quiet for a moment, and the weight of God’s silence caused Jonah to realize how, in his enthusiasm to see retribution reigned down on their enemies, he’d interrupted God—twice! He waited, hoping God would be slow to anger.

“No, Jonah. It is my heart that none would perish. (See 2 Peter 3:9) I desire to save all humanity, not destroy them. (See Luke 9:56) And I want you to help me with that. I want you to go to Nineveh and tell them what you know about me; that I “am a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”

Jonah thought he would be sick. Suddenly, his whole world was spinning; his theology was under attack, his belief system under siege, everything he knew about God and man was being tossed on its head, and even worse, it was God doing the tossing! If Jonah was being honest, the very idea that God would forgive their enemies offended and disgusted him. But he decided to take a moment and consider if God’s words could be true.

The Ninevites were horrific sinners, foreign oppressors, evil people who had done horrific things, they were not like Jonah or the people of God, his people. If God showered grace, compassion, and love on all people, then what would separate us from them? Jonah wondered.

If Ninevites can be saved, that would mean anyone can be saved! The implications hit Jonah, and his next thoughts came fast and furious. What’s the point of following the law if God swoops in at the last second and saves unlawful people?

And, without an ultimate punishment, why live righteous at all?

And fast on the heels of that thought, without retribution, there would be no way to control people!

That last thought terrified Jonah.

No, the idea that God is redemptively gracious toward everyone, that He is somehow reconciling all things was, ‘dangerous,’ ‘heretical,’ ‘ungodly and…

Grasping at straws, Jonah suddenly had an unholy epiphany; it calmed and then emboldened him. Making a show of it, Jonah slowly unzipped his bible. Smugly, he flipped through its pages, landing on a scripture. Then, almost condescendingly, Jonah leaned over and made as if to invite God to read it for Himself.

God looked on, confused and slightly amused.

Then, grinning like a fool, Jonah hurled scripture at God like a spear.

“Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?… I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them, my enemies.” (from Psalm 139:21-21) Jonah closed the book with a sense of finality. He had made his point, with scripture no less, so, case closed, checkmate!

Then God became very serious. The kind of serious that only a powerfully generous Creator of the Universe can become.

“Son, that may be scripture, but it’s nothing like me. Jonah, you have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,’” (Matthew 5:44-45)

Jonah gasped as the weight of God’s Word hit him. Suddenly, he was confronted with the thought—God was way better than he had believed. And, for a moment, he wanted to change the way he believed.

But Jonah was too invested in his theology, his certainties, he’d built his whole existence upon them. Jonah hardened his heart and determined he wanted no part of a God that good. He would continue serving an angry God who destroyed sinners, laid waste to His enemies, and sought ultimate retribution on all who disobeyed Him.

However, this left Jonah neatly trapped. And he knew it. He had decided to willfully disobey his retributive God, and this meant he would have to live the rest of his life on the run, living on the lam. So he made his escape.

Jonah caught a boat sailing for Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction of Nineveh.

Now, you might wonder—why wouldn’t God move on from Jonah, maybe find someone else who would repent? I would like to suggest it’s because God loved Jonah and wanted to see him free from the bondage of his broken retributive and enslaving theology.

For Jonah’s sake, God wouldn’t let it go. Many years later, God would become a man and literally enter Jonah’s delusion and both expose and destroy it from the inside out. But in this story, God got on the boat with Jonah.

And this is where it gets crazy. The kind of crazy that makes its way into children’s picture books. A storm catches Jonah and the sailors; a nasty one.

The author of this story tells us that God sent the storm. But Jonah is the fella who interprets the meaning of the storm. And you guessed it, Jonah interpreted it through his angry, punishing God lens.

God, the one whom Jonah was convinced was wrathful, had sent the storm to punish him for his disobedience; to kill him. This, of course, is something Jonah’s god would do.

For most of my life, I read this story and believed God sent a storm to kill or punish Jonah. Because, well, that’s what Jonah told me. And also, it’s how I was taught to read it.

I’ve also been told this was a story about God’s unwavering desire to save the Ninevites from His hell-bent desire to destroy them. But the Ninevites were just a subplot. The fact is, God didn’t need Jonah to help Him get a message to the Ninevites. God is really good at communicating, He can use donkeys if needed. And, even— whales.

This story is about a man who had a distorted understanding of the nature of God. And, it is about a Kind and Loving God seeking to change the man’s heart and mind about Him.

That’s pretty much what every story in the Bible is about. And also my life, and yours.

What would have happened if, in the midst of the storm, Jonah had gotten on His knees and prayed, “God forgive me of my elitist thinking, my obsession with separation? Forgive me of my religious us and them racist thoughts about You?”

Who knows, maybe a heart is transformed, and maybe a storm calms? Maybe Jonah even turns and speaks, “Peace, be still” over the storm. That would have been cool, and also biblical.

But he didn’t. Instead, he preaches his angry god gospel to terrified sailors who want no part of his religion. With self-righteous arrogance, Jonah doubles down and determines it’s the will of god that he die for his sin. Instead of repenting, Jonah, with his sanctimonious gospel, and his penal substitutionary atonement, preaches himself overboard as a sacrifice to his angry god. And worse, he makes the sailors complicit in his death religion.

For many, this is Christian evangelism 101. You know it, God is angry, and hell is coming. But if we just participate in the ideology of human sacrifice, we can be saved.

Jonah literally sacrificed his life on the altar of his understanding, his hateful certanties. He would rather die proving God was wrathful and hateful than live with a God who forgives His enemies. Jonah would rather die for his belief in an angry God than repent and believe God is good, forgiving, merciful and kind; even better than he thought.

But Jason, the storm died down after Jonah was thrown into the sea. Therefore, the storm must have been God’s will. Maybe, but I would suggest God’s will is to calm storms. And I have a pretty good reason to suggest it.

Plus, if God wanted to kill Jonah, He didn’t need a storm, nor would He have sent a whale to save him.

If you know this story, it has a good ending, for the Ninevites.

After three days in the belly of a whale, Jonah relents. But sadly, Jonah never truly repents. He never leaves the us or them theology he defined God with, the dualistic ideology he was willing to die for. Instead, much like the older brother that Jesus tells us about in Luke 15, Jonah’s obedience never impacts his heart. And obedience without compassion is just religion.

Like a slave for a master, Jonah preaches his angry gospel to the Ninevites and then is surprised when they repent and receive forgiveness. But not happily. In this story, Jonah never discovered the heart of God; he never partnered with reconciling love.

The destruction did not come, and “to Jonah, this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.” (Jonah 4:1) Then Jonah made a heartbreaking statement. The statement I started this article with. A truth Jonah knew at the beginning of the story but refused to be transformed by, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” (Jonah 4:2)

I know a lot of churchgoers, good people, Christians, who just can’t stomach a compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love God when it comes to nationality, political affiliation, religious belief, or sexual orientation. So often, my friends would rather sacrifice their lives on the altar of their cruel certainties. They would rather die proving God is wrathful and hateful than live with a God who forgives His enemies. So many of my brothers and sisters would rather die for their belief in an angry God than repent and believe God is love. His love is like Jesus on a cross, forgiving us of our delusion and reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us.

Jonah never repented; he never changed the way he thought or what he believed. And I think it’s what Jesus may have meant when He said, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

When it comes to the story of Jonah, you could say it this way, “we depart from Him when we reject His reconciling love.”

We can know all the scriptures, do all the stuff, obey all the rules, but if we aren’t willing to be offended by His reconciling love, if we aren’t willing to repent, to change our thoughts, to step away from us and them thinking, then we are missing the whole point.

This Jonah story is on every page of the Bible and in every cell of our bodies. Over and again, God is revealing Himself perfectly through Christ as gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, forgiving, redeeming, restoring, abounding in love, and desiring to save us from calamity.

And God said to Jonah, “…should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left…” And Jesus said from the cross, “…Father forgive them, for they know not what they do?” (Jonah 4:11, Luke 23:34)

God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. In these volatile days of us and them, may we grow ever sure in His love and be transformed by it.

There is No “Us” and “Them”

The early church, led by Peter and a handful of others, was beautiful—and that’s an understatement.

From the moment Holy Spirit burst onto the scene in the upper room, as depicted in Acts 2, there was an evangelistic explosion. With “many wonders and signs,” folks were added to the church daily, weekly, and monthly. (1)

Young leaders—most notably, Paul and Timothy, both championed by Barnabas, and later James, championed by Peter—were raised up and commissioned to spread the Good News from village to village and city to city. (3)

The presence of Holy Spirit manifested in every aspect of the church. From Pentecost on, Holy Spirit was present and known to fall “on all who heard the word.” (5)

All could be saved.

Except anyone who wasn’t Jewish.

So, not literally all, I guess. Just, well, the Jewish all.

Just like today, the understanding of the Good News of Jesus within the church and her leadership was limited but ever-expanding. In those beautifully formative early church days, the limitation was that only Jews were in.

Imagine a church stunning in fellowship—a church Jesus referenced as “the light of the world, a city set on a hill.” Imagine the revelation of eternal life flowing through their veins. Imagine the power of their evangelism.

I know, it’s nearly impossible, but imagine a church interpreting Scripture to reveal Jesus as the Savior of a select group, a people who looked, believed, and acted like them—as though atonement was somehow limited… Imagine they interpreted Scripture in ways that separated Gentiles from Jews, in from out, and women from ministry.

I know it’s difficult, but try to imagine a church experiencing profound revelation, favor, life, joy, and unity while simultaneously living with a heart-breaking limited perspective regarding the all-inclusive nature of our heavenly Father.

You may be picking up some playful sarcasm.

Why? Because it’s actually quite easy to imagine this church. You likely have participated in it. I certainly have.

I don’t mean that as a condemning statement. Rather, it is an invitation to daily repent—to mature in reconciling Love.

The early church and her leadership were authentic, sincere, and growing in revelation. At the same time, the early church had a serious flaw on its God lens, the same dualistic hierarchal flaw the church and her leadership continue to discover and repent of today.

Us and Them

For and Against

In and Out

And I could go on.

The early church knew the transformational revelation of Jesus’ great affection. And this church was led by a man who had experienced mercy, grace, and the all-inclusive love of His friend, Jesus, in a way that few ever have.

And in every day that passed, Peter and the early church grew in the revelation of our Father’s always good, no distance, no separation love. And yet, even in the daily profound manifestation of God’s presence, for the first nine years or so, the early church seemed oblivious to their devastating (especially if you were a Gentile) ‘us and them’ flaw on their God lens.

God didn’t ignore their delusions, nor did He condemn them for their exclusivity. He just kept revealing Himself. He continued to meet them where they were, His presence profoundly known.

Throughout history, God always seems to believe that His love is more powerful than our flawed understanding. God seems to think our hearts will win out in the end.

And it is, and they do…

Along the way, the early church’s fallen ‘us and them’ thinking and their closed hearts began to change. Peter first. Then one day, when the soil was ready to bear good fruit; Peter is given a vision by God that is offensively good. A gospel so expansive as to include the whole world in the finished work of the cross. It even included bacon! (See Acts 10)

Offensively good!

And Peter was willing to be offended by the goodness of God. And that’s a big deal. The willingness to be offended by God’s goodness is the birthplace of revelation and transformation and an absolute requirement for leaders.

Peter rises from that vision and within hours, welcomes me and several billion more into the family. Within hours, the gospel included the whole world. Within hours, every tribe and tongue was a welcomed son or daughter. Within hours, the good news was even better than Peter or the church could think or imagine.

Many of us today long to go back to the early church days, viewing those first few years as the high-water mark of what a church is meant to be. They weren’t. Not even close! As beautifully transformative as She was, the early church was even more beautifully transformative the day She repented, and Cornelius and his family, and my family, and every family was included! And She continues to grow more beautiful each day because Her foundation is firmly laid upon the rock of an all-included finished work of the cross.

One of the reasons I love Peter’s leadership is because the man’s heart was ever-expanding, his mind ever open to rethinking. He was a man who knew how to repent.

Jesus said, “upon this rock,” I will build the expansiveness of my church. Then Jesus gave the reins to a narrow-minded hothead. But a narrow-minded hothead who was continually open to being offended by the all-inclusive goodness of God. And as Peter matured in his faith and leadership, he became way less narrow in his thinking…

I believe a good leader is continually discovering a gospel that is more inclusive than the last time he or she checked. A good leader is one who is daily repenting from ‘us and them,’ ‘for and against,’ ‘in and out’ thinking.

The love of God is all-inclusive, and a good leader is a person who is ever learning not to divorce their heart from their head.

In my 46 years, I have often been surprised by how many leaders divorce their hearts for the sake of their understanding. I know it’s not just leaders, but I expect more humility from them.

I have sat in many rooms and watched love undermine every argument of separation, every case made for ‘us and them,’ only to witness leaders close their hearts and deny love for the sake of their dualistic understanding.

Peter, as a leader, was the gateway for changing the way the church thought regarding the inclusion of Cornelius and his family into the Family. If Peter had been too proud to repent when the goodness of God was revealed to him, he’d have actually stood against God and made a mess of things for those who followed him. So it’s a big deal!

Leadership, the kind Peter revealed, is evidenced by repenting from the exclusivity of ‘us and them’ thinking. Leadership, the kind Peter revealed, is evidenced in the willingness to rethink theologies, systems, methods, traditions, and institutions that undermine the all-inclusive other-centered love of our Father.

But I am encouraged! Lately, and more regularly, I speak with leaders, sons, and daughters, in all walks of life and leadership, who are willing to be offended by His love, then willing to repent, rethink, and re-imagine.

I believe the church is on the cusp of another “Cornelius breakthrough”—a deeper understanding and agreement with the same revelation that Peter was stewarding in the early church; there is no ‘us and them’ in how our Father thinks, no ‘us and them’ in His Kingdom, no ‘us and them’ in our Family.

There is no Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male or female, no black or white, lost or found, sinner or saint, gay or straight, republican or democrat, capitalist or socialist, Christian or Muslim or Atheist… there is nothing that separates us from His all-inclusive love. “…For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (See Gal 3:28)

There is no death He hasn’t defeated, no hell He hasn’t invaded, no delusion He hasn’t infiltrated, no darkness He hasn’t illuminated; there is nothing that separates us from the love revealed through His death and resurrection.

As Bono sings, “One love, one life…”

We are one, and we are growing in this ever-expanding revelation; one family discovering our Father’s great desire revealed through the prayer of His Son, Jesus.

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” (John 17:21)

These are not early church days, these are 2020 church days! Isn’t that amazing!? You are the church! And you’re beautiful!

So go find your Cornelius today and reveal the desires of his or her heart: that they are loved and included!
Be the leader Peter was to your spouse, kids, family, neighborhood, shopping mall, and even your local church gathering.

“No other except the impulsive Simon could have been at once the embodiment of the Adversary (get behind me Satan) and the incarnation of the Rock on which the church should rest (Matt 16:16-23).” – Frank Grant Lewis, Peter’s Place in the Early Church, 1909

Offense is a Prison

1st Corinthians 13 is one of the most beautiful descriptions of love. It’s a verse used often and with good reason at weddings. So, most of us are familiar.

It starts with love being patient and kind. It goes on laying out the stunning attributes of God’s nature.

Tucked between how Love isn’t easily angered and how Love doesn’t delight in evil is a powerful thought; Love keeps no record of wrongs…

Jesus, Love in human form, hanging on a cross between heaven and earth, His flesh torn, his body battered, His hands and feet pierced, the lie of separation a veil between Him and the Father, cutting Him off from sensing His Fathers affection; Jesus revealed the powerful sovereignty of Love. Confronting the arrogance of humanistic thought (what seems right to a man) He kept no record of the worst wrong humanity has ever committed:

“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The power in those stunning words!

Do you know what happened when He kept no record of our wrongs?

He couldn’t justify His right to be offended.

And all creation was rebirthed in this powerful conclusion; “…neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Offense happens. And sometimes it’s horrific. But keeping a record of the offense is a sign that we’re headed down a dangerous road.

Road signs have two purposes: they let us know where we are, and they let us know where we are going. Personal offense or “keeping a record of wrongs,” is a road sign that we are headed toward bondage instead of freedom.

The key to freedom isn’t about not being offended—it’s about keeping no record.

I am not writing about somehow magically forgetting an offense. That would be emotionally and intellectually dishonest. Nor am I writing about trust; trust is earned over time and circumstances, and it can be lost in a moment.

I am writing about choosing to forgive. I am writing about not staying offended.

Forgiveness is the expression of honor that Jesus consistently and ultimately revealed on the cross. Forgiveness is a choice that can be made regardless of what the offender has done.

When we forgive, we choose to keep no records of wrong, we choose to not stay offended, to “not count someone’s sin against them.” And in so doing, we set ourselves free from a right to our offense.

Keeping no record of wrongs means another person doesn’t get to determine whether we are free; another person doesn’t get to control the narrative of our hearts with their offense.

This freedom is a beautiful and powerful thing. It creates a heart culture in us of reconciliation and restored relationship. It is the beautiful evidence of self-control, the Holy Spirit at work within us. It is the partnership with Jesus that brings great joy and life and wholeness to our relationships, it is “on earth as it is in heaven.”

I am leaning into what Jesus modeled and gave me as an inheritance, I am learning to keep no record of the wrongs done to me, and I am walking in greater freedom and transformation. I invite you into this same joy!