They Don't Know...
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 10:57AM 
Happy Wednesday, Friends! Susie Larson here…
And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. Each month I give away a $10.00 Starbucks gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So leave a post, share an insight, bless lots of people, and just maybe you’ll win a jolt of java for you and a friend.
Now on to my topic…
Recently a friend shared with me about a painful betrayal he’d endured at the hands of someone close to him. This person repeatedly hurt him, crossed lines with him, and disregarded his feelings. When I asked him why he didn’t impose some kind of boundary or limit to this treatment, he said, “My friend has too much information on me. Even though his offense against me is much worse than anything I’ve done in my lifetime, he knows too much about me and I don’t want to be exposed.”
That conversation left me thinking about the countless things I’ve said and done that I so wish I could take back. Where would any of us be without the cleansing, forgiveness of our Lord? His mercies are new every morning! His compassions they fail not! Great is His faithfulness (See Lamentations 3:21-24). Thank you, Lord.
During my prayer time one morning, I apologized again to the Lord for every stupid thing I’ve ever done. “I’m really so sorry, Lord. If I’d known You for who You really are, if I’d known Your love, acceptance, and provision the way I do now, I don’t think I would have lived in such an earthbound way.”
Just then I pictured the scene of Jesus on the cross, interceding for those of us who put Him there. And do you remember how He prayed? “Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.”
My guess is that all of our sin, if not most of it, comes out of a misunderstanding of who God is and who He promised to be to us.
When the woman at the well (a woman looking for love in all the wrong places) came face to face with Jesus, He passionately said to her, “If only you knew who God is and the gift He has for you, and who I am, you’d ask Me for the gift of living water” (John 4:10.)
When we forget who God is and what He has for us, we dig our own wells, we drink muddy water, and we wonder why we have a gut ache afterwards.
Because of Christ, we lack no good thing. Remember Psalm 23? The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.
Scripture talks about how during our time on earth, we see as in a glass dimly. Think about that for a moment. We don’t see clearly. There’s so much we don’t know. And so often we act out of our own ignorance, fear, and selfishness.
Read this passage from 1 Corinthians 13:12 ~ Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Jesus went to the cross knowing that our fallen nature would cloud the lens through which we view life. He knew we’d live in reaction to our frailties and fears. He went to the cross with the full knowledge of our need, and knowing us completely, He interceded for us right in the midst of our ignorance. He killed death’s power over us so that our souls might be healed, and our vision, restored.
This helps me to intercede for those who’ve hurt me in the past and for those who step on my toes now. Forgive them, Lord. They just don’t know…
Even the most wicked, intending-to-do-evil types of people, really don’t know what they’re doing. But one day, when Jesus returns, they’ll see with perfect clarity. They’ll realize how wrong they were; how much they didn’t know; but for them, it’ll be too late.
Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 2 that if the religious rulers had understood what they were about to do, they never would have crucified our glorious Lord. They thought they knew more than most, but their pride blinded them.
When we choose to love God and accept Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, it’s a very big deal to God. When we choose to walk in faith because our circumstances scream a different message, all of heaven notices. When we choose to forgive someone for hurting us, and we entrust our wounded soul to the Lord, He stands up and draws us to Himself.
May our first and foremost passion be to better know the love of Christ. Ephesians tells us that when we know this love, then we’ll be filled to the fullness of God. Proverbs 9:10 says this: Knowing the Holy One results in understanding.
As we grow in the knowledge of God, our choices will—more and more—reflect our love for and trust in Christ Jesus.
And when others hurt or offend us, we can entrust them to the One who knows everything. We can pray with Jesus, Lord, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.
Lord, God Almighty, help me to know You more. Help me to walk in a manner worthy of Your Name. Forgive me for the countless sins I commit in ignorance. Cleanse me from hidden faults. Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be innocent and blameless before You. I live in eager expectation and hope that my whole life will reflect Your glory. In Jesus’ Name, and for His glory, I pray. Amen.
But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:8-9)
Reader Comments (4)
"Out of ignorance"! How often do we do that to others?? Last week our whole family sat in a hospital room at St Mary's Hospital in Rochester MN. Our son was coming out of a serious seizure disorder called the SMART Syndrome or stroke type migriane headaches caused by radiation therapy. Instead of rejoicing in the Lord for seeing Brian through to this point, we were at each other's throats over what type of occupational and speech therapy he would get at home and at what facility. The facility closest to home denied him which they had done in the past and by this time my patience was wearing thin as were the consultants at Mayo. I and my daughter wanted him to go somewhere else my husband and other son wanted him to stay at the facility no matter what. we were not acting Christ-like at all and quite frankly I was embarrased by my behavior. I said some things to my hubby that had long since been resolved (I thought, many years ago) and I wondered where those remarks were coming from. Sometimes in a fit of passion we say things that never should have been said. In the case of those who crucified Jesus the same thing happened. They were caught up in the passion of the moment and gave no thought to what they did. Whty do we do these dumb things?? We can be so proud of ourselves sometimes how we can forgive others who have hurt us in unbelievable ways and then we can say very cutting things to someone else and we bow our heads in shame to see how far we have fallen. Thank God that His Son Jesus understood this all when He died to save us from these passionate moments that bring us such same. Our son is home now and will start therapy tomorrow and at the facility closer to home and it is okay. I still have to ask my hubby to forgive my sharp remarks that day I clearly did not know what I was doing.
God, please forgive me for the things that i may have said and done that may have offended others! There are times I have said and done things that unknowingly have offended others. and times when people have offended me. But I am glad that God is a forgiving God and can also forgive blind religious leaders that didn't know what they do or say that may affect others. By the grace of God.
My husband and I were hurt in a "stirring of the pot" with some fellow leaders in a former church. Accusations were made that were untrue re: our pastor and his wife and the "flames" of it were fanned until the fire spread and couldn't be put out. Not long after our pastor and his wife resigned rather than refute and fight againest this sin. People shunned us because we were friends with this couple and had served beside them for many years. Many folks were hurt, as were we and most all of us with those feelings left the church. The hurt was beyond anything we'd ever experienced--it was like a death. This happened maybe 6 years ago and now we can look back and reflect without the tears. We've moved on and have found that forgiveness (in our human-ess) is a process! Being blindsided by fellow believers is the worst hurt because we think we should be above that. To focus on Christ and what He did for us is THE best kind of healing medicine! Now, in looking back, God 'sifted' us and placed many of us in other churches around the country for HIS purposes! God can bring good out of bad situations!!
We need to forgive ourselves as the Lord forgives us. A dear mentor of mine, Dr. William Backus (now with the Lord) told me that he processed forgiveness in this logical way: first he asked himself, "How much did they mean it?" Then, he asked, "How big an issue is it to me?" The, "How much does it hurt?" THEN, he would tell the Lord, "I choose to forgive this person."
I have used that thought process in dealing with some very deep betrayals. And, as I read Susie's blog I began to think that I could use this logical process in forgiving MYSELF as well...
Grace and peace to you, sisters.