If you haven’t noticed, Tiger Wood’s golf career has been in a real tailspin, to the point he came in next to last this summer in a tournament he’s won 7 times.  What’s interesting to me, is that I’m yet to hear someone react to this news by saying “boy, I sure do feel bad for him”, or “poor thing.”  Nope, what I’ve heard is “good, he’s getting what he deserves”.  Or “serves him right”.  Or “I don’t feel the least bit sorry for him.”  Which I imagine for most of us sums up how we feel.  We don’t feel sorry for him because he was the dummy that messed his life up so badly.  Almost feels good, doesn’t it – be honest – to see someone else get his comeuppance.

            In thinking about the forgiveness that God gives to us, I don’t think I quite got it - this ability of God to look at us and know completely the dumb mess of our lives we are responsible for, and then somehow forgive, and even more incredibly, forget – until I was processing our collective feelings toward Tiger.

            Instead of saying “serves you right”, God served us, right.  Instead of saying “you’re getting what you deserve”, He got what we deserved - through His hands and feet, across His back, around His brow.  Instead of saying He doesn’t feel sorry for us, He took on the life of sorrow.  He became a sorry pitiful convict nailed to a tree, for you, for me.

            I just find it amazing how deep God’s love is, and how complete His forgiveness is - and I’m immediately reminded of how shallow I am on both counts.  He felt so bad for our situation He had to do something about it to make it right - and then He chooses to remember our sins no more.  Isn’t this the opposite of where we are so often?  We’re happy someone else is getting justice – serves you right Tiger – and we’ll still be able to recount their shortcomings years from now.

            And if we don’t watch it, we can start chalking up all the wrong things done by others - sometimes even to us - to the point we don’t have the time to think about the need for our own forgiveness, much less our need to forgive others.  Before you know it, our heart wants justice served on someone who used to be our best friend.  Reminds me of the story Jesus told about someone who was forgiven of thousands of dollars and spared from jail, and then proceeded to turnaround and put the screws to someone who owed him a few twenties.  Yep, we’re all for mercy and forgiveness – as long as we’re on the receiving end.

            Is there anybody you know who has wronged you?  That deserves justice?  That you really can’t, and shouldn’t be expected to forgive, for it is awful what they’ve done.  And don’t even start to talk about forgetting what they’ve done.  Impossible.

            Remember, Jesus pleads, the great forgiveness, the grace, the mercy, we’ve been given.  Remember, and pass it on.

            Or else, one day, you will get what you deserve.  Trust me, that, He won’t forget.