There it was on a bumper sticker "Christians Are Not Perfect; They Are Forgiven." My theological mind worked on that for a while and part of me applauded the modesty of that particular insight. A part of me realized that like many things compressed in just a few words, it was a half truth, an inadequate statement about the whole issue of forgiveness. This morning as we look at this bumper sticker "Christians Aren't Perfect; They Are Forgiven," I would like us to take a closer look at this matter of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the act of reaching out to another who has done wrong to us to reestablish a broken relationship. I think the important part of this understanding of forgiveness is the part about the restoration of a broken relationship. Because when you stop to think about our brok…