Another Way
Little is known or shared about a guy called Lamech … don't leave the kind of legacy we would want. Lamech was the great, great, great-grandson of Cain and had two wives and at least a couple of sons of his own.
Lamech’s 15 minutes of fame do not reflect favorably upon him. We read in Genesis 4 (23-24) that he called his wives together for a family meeting. During this time, he confesses, perhaps even boasts, to them that he understands how revenge works. He says, “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.”
In our little insight about Lamech, he enters into a principle that we have been living and laboring under since sin began. It is a law of revenge and rights. It goes like this, “If someone offends, hurts, or inflicts pain upon us, we have the right to pay them back.” I don’t know about you, but in moments of anger and hurt, my first response is to get defensive about my behavior and become aggressive. We have lived under this law of Lamech for thousands of years.
But then Jesus shows up and, while turning the world upside down, introduces another way for us to respond when we have been wronged. Instead of seeking revenge, Jesus invites us to forgive. He changes the game's rules and says, “Before God, you no longer have the right to fight back because God had the right to fight back against your sin, but instead chose the way of forgiveness.” Because God has chosen to forgive us, we are obliged to forgive others because of our love for him. Jesus goes as far as to say that the level to which we can forgive others is the level to which God will forgive us.
Genuine forgiveness, Jesus says, is something that happens in our heart (Matt 18:35). And according to Ken Sande, founder of Peacemakers Ministry, heart-level forgiveness involves making four promises;
Tough stuff! Lemech established the law of revenge and retribution, our default condition. Jesus set the radical notion of forgiveness.
Don’t follow the law of Lemech - follow a law that leads to life.
Lamech’s 15 minutes of fame do not reflect favorably upon him. We read in Genesis 4 (23-24) that he called his wives together for a family meeting. During this time, he confesses, perhaps even boasts, to them that he understands how revenge works. He says, “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.”
In our little insight about Lamech, he enters into a principle that we have been living and laboring under since sin began. It is a law of revenge and rights. It goes like this, “If someone offends, hurts, or inflicts pain upon us, we have the right to pay them back.” I don’t know about you, but in moments of anger and hurt, my first response is to get defensive about my behavior and become aggressive. We have lived under this law of Lamech for thousands of years.
But then Jesus shows up and, while turning the world upside down, introduces another way for us to respond when we have been wronged. Instead of seeking revenge, Jesus invites us to forgive. He changes the game's rules and says, “Before God, you no longer have the right to fight back because God had the right to fight back against your sin, but instead chose the way of forgiveness.” Because God has chosen to forgive us, we are obliged to forgive others because of our love for him. Jesus goes as far as to say that the level to which we can forgive others is the level to which God will forgive us.
Genuine forgiveness, Jesus says, is something that happens in our heart (Matt 18:35). And according to Ken Sande, founder of Peacemakers Ministry, heart-level forgiveness involves making four promises;
- A Promise not to dwell on the incident
- A promise to not bring up this incident and use it against the offender
- A promise that I will not talk about this incident
- A promise that I will not allow this incident to stand between us and hinder our personal relationship.
Tough stuff! Lemech established the law of revenge and retribution, our default condition. Jesus set the radical notion of forgiveness.
Don’t follow the law of Lemech - follow a law that leads to life.
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