God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
It is the experience of having been forgiven (by Christ) which releases the generous impulses to forgive others (Matt. 18:23-35), just as it is the refusal to forgive which betrays the reality that forgiveness has not been received, that the individual has not even recognized the need for forgiveness (Matt. 6:14-15). A community has hope of holding together and growing together only when the need for forgiveness is recognized on each side where fault has been committed and only when forgiveness is both offered and received.
People no longer ask “Is it true?” but “Does it work?” and “How will this make me feel?” Those latter two questions serve as a working definition of truth in our society that rejects the concept of absolute divine truth. Truth is whatever works and produces positive emotions.
