It was a peaceful Friday afternoon before I accidentally backed into a car behind me at the gas station. My car hit the car’s front bumper. Not too hard, but the noise was undeniable. I immediately got off and approached the puzzled middle-aged man who was still sitting in his Mazda 3.
“I am so sorry, sir. It’s my fault. I am very sorry. Are you okay?”
I was impressed that the man mustered up a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. But you scared me,” he said. I apologized again with all my heart when he got out of his car. He only gave a passing look at his front bumper and number plate. But he looked carefully at the scratch on my car’s rear bumper. To my surprise, he turned to me and said, “You know what? It’s alright. Don’t worry about it, my friend.”
I was, in fact, ready to cooperate. I thought he would take photos, demand my contact and insurance information with a stern face. Or he could’ve simply asked for a compensation for the damage incurred. But he defied my expectation completely by forgiving me and letting me go, and he did all this with a smile.
What the gentleman did to me is incomparable to what God has done for me. Driving back home, however, I couldn’t stop thinking about God’s forgiveness thanks to that man whose name I don’t even know. If a forgiveness of a small wrong gives me such joy and comfort, how much more will I rejoice over the indescribable forgiveness of all my sins by the blood of Christ?
“When God forgives us, we are forgiven. When God cleanses us, we are made clean. That is a cause for great celebration” —R.C. Sproul
