I once asked a Bible study group how to reconcile God’s goodness with the concept of free will. I asked them to consider Judges 2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; and 10:6 in their answer. I didn’t get the answers that I expected, but my question helped me to remember that we serve a God who gives us free will all the time, and though we stumble all the time, He forgives us all the time. In fact, He forgives us while we are still His enemies (Romans 5:10).
The entire foundation of Christianity rests on our gifts of free will, faith, and forgiveness. And all the time these gifts rub up against and rupture each other in this fallen world. The only real healing is through forgiveness, which for many of us is a real problem.
We don’t want to sacrifice, obey and forgive. Jesus didn’t want to do it either (Matthew 26:42), but He knew that since the beginning of time the human race would need a Savior (Genesis 3:6; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Matthew 26:26-28; John 1:1-5; 1 John 1:1-3; Revelation 22:12, 13). So, He was obedient, even to death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). He didn’t ignore His feelings; He cried out to God about them (Matthew 27:46). But He also asked a prayer of forgiveness and then yielded His spirit to God (Luke 23:34, 46).
Many of us know how difficult it is to forgive. It is a process that takes a long time and often feels like God has forsaken us. Again, Jesus knew the feeling. He felt it, too. And He is here with us now to walk with us through it. We can run to Him and ask Him anything (Hebrews 4:16; Matthew 7:7). We may not get the answers that we want at the time that we want them (Job 38:1-4, 40:2), but He comforts us (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), and we know that He is with us all the days of our lives (Psalm 23).
Despite all that I know about forgiveness and how God has demonstrated it (2 Corinthians 5:18-21), I still have a hard time with it, as if I sometimes wish it weren’t the foundation of our faith. But I know if it were not, I wouldn’t stand a chance to make it in heaven. None of us would (Isaiah 64:4-6; John 3:16, 17).