Last month, during the height of the Tiger Woods sex scandal, I awoke one morning to find the following phrases painted on my neighbor’s wall:
“Tiger’s Wall of Forgiveness: Please support him by signing this wall…”
“Tiger gives to children so this is my gift to Elin & Tiger Woods…”
“Woods is a balla & pimp…”
“John 3:16…”
“To err is human, To forgive is divine…”
For a month now I’ve witnessed people’s reactions Tiger’s Wall of Forgiveness. As you can imagine, the wall has elicited it’s fair share of blank stares from commuters in Southwest Portland:
Some pull over and snap pictures with their phones.
A handful paint their names.
Teenagers giggle.
HOA members gasp.
Like many bystanders, at first I marveled at my neighbor’s off-color endorsement to the golf legend. How intense of a sports fan are you when you begin making atonement with your landscaping? However, as I’ve thought about Tiger’s Wall lately I’ve come realize it’s far more than a decorative statement…
It’s a doctrinal statement.
It’s a tribute to the popular concept of forgiveness.
Men and women today want to believe in forgiveness; so much so that some grab paintbrushes and invite total strangers to paint their property. However, like so many words in the Bible, the word forgiveness meant something far greater than it has come to mean for most people today. For the biblical writers, the word forgiveness meant a lot more than saying “sorry” for your sins. Forgiveness meant that an innocent animal had to suffer.
“…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
[Heb 9:22]
Of all the words in scripture, forgiveness is perhaps the most precious to me as both a pastor and a follower of Jesus Christ.
Forgiveness is a beautiful, bloody word.
It conjures up the awe and agony of Easter.
It beckons me back to cross of Christ.
It hand me the cup of salvation and says,
“Drink of it…for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” [Matt 26:28]
