I've been thinking about some comments I received regarding the man who stole my retirement money. It's caused me to ponder forgiveness and the atonement again.
I look at it this way. Yes, the man did wrong. Yes, he should be held accountable (forgiveness and accountability are not the same thing). Yes, losing the money hurt me tremendously financially speaking. However, there is a BIG caveat.
When I accepted Jesus' atonement in my life, I also accepted that his atonement is active in the lives of others. When Jesus died for our sins, he died for ALL of them...the ones that are repented of and the ones that aren't. He paid the price for every sin...made an infinite atonement. This transfers the burdens of all the sins that others commit against us onto the shoulders of our Savior. So in this case, when I forgive the man who stole my retirement, I am really "forgiving" Jesus...who, though he did no wrong, already paid the full price of this man's sin. It's hard to forgive a man who steals my savings and that of many of my friends, who transfers all of his assets to his wife, divorces her, declares bankruptcy and runs off to Panama to play with his ill-gotten gains. But my Savior, who died for me, comforts me, and teaches me daily about his grace...toward him, I can hold no ill will. And he is the Mediator between me and those who sin against me.
It is hard to remember these principles at times. I'm only human, and I struggle from time to time to forgive others. But because I am constantly needing his forgiveness, I am often reminded that the atonement is there not just for me, but for others. And that makes all the difference.
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