I’m going to be writing on the subject of forgiveness in the days and weeks ahead and today I want to kick this off where God is getting my attention … at the “Paradox Principle.”

I’ve been reading through the gospel of Luke and there are SO many powerful passages about forgiveness there. Just today I was reading this often quoted passage,

“‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’” –Luke 6:37-38 (NIV)

For me, the crux of Christ’s words here is to give what you’ve been given from Him.

Most of the time my knee-jerk reaction is to give what my offender has given me. But that’s exactly the opposite of what Christ calls us to do in this passage. The “Paradox Principle,” originated and created by Christ, is His “trademark,” if you will. No one else gives what’s good in exchange for what’s been bad/hurtful. It goes against common sense and human nature.

Think about the ways your spouse has offended you for a moment. Have you been taken for granted, lied to, insulted, criticized, rejected, betrayed, __________? You fill the blank.

Now, what we naturally want to do is defend ourselves or turn away from our spouse or offender when we’ve been abused or mistreated. But Christ wants us to lay our efforts to “right a wrong,” or worse, pay back a wrong with revenge, at His feet and give what He is and has been extending to us—grace, mercy, love to our offender.

The holiday season is a great time to bake cookies and part of this verse reminds me of that process. When you’re using brown sugar in a recipe, you must shake it together, press it down and make room for every granule of sweetness to make the best cookies.

Christ wants to “press” the good you and I give to our offender “down” and “shake it together—making it as sweet and overflowing as possible for all to experience.

But if the measure you and I are using is to give what’s bad or hurtful back to our offender or our erring spouse, then we’re not evening the score. We’re short-changing our offender, our selves and our Paradoxical, Multiplying, Grace-giving God!

And who wants to short-change Him?

When I think of the grace and goodness He’s given me over and over again, I realize that I have only one true, right option in this wrong I’ve experienced—to do good, to love and to forgive those who’ve hurt me.

The times I’ve learned to do this with my husband {and others} have proven to me that Christ keeps His word. His goodness continually overflows into my lap and His sweetness spills into everyone’s lives!

Won’t you take that risk? Give what Christ has given you?

What makes it difficult for you to trust Christ’s “Paradox Principle”?

This post is #1 in “Forgiveness Series”