Holy Week—Wednesday

“Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over,” Matthew 26:14-16, NIV.

Have you ever betrayed a friend? Obviously, no one has ever been a Judas of Iscariot, but we have all chosen to save our own skin, protect ourselves from embarrassment, or the loss of position. It’s not our finest hour. We failed to love like Jesus. Most of these “throw a friend under the bus” moments are performed in childhood. However, some of our betrayal behavior seeps into adulthood—gossip joined, denial to know, a roll of the eyes to a friend, are all forms of betrayal.

Judas, being the worst, is the one we compare ourselves to, thus justifying our actions. 

I am not trying to guilt trip us, only for us to understand we all potentially have misdeeds trailing us. Judas met his demise and is no more. But we are here, and we, like the two thieves on either side of Jesus have an opportunity for forgiveness. One thief chose to ask for it, the other one denied Jesus’ forgiveness, and died without it.

Getting to know God, is to understand His forgiveness. He forgives the big things and the little things.

Always, your choice—we can ask or ignore His offerings of forgiveness.