Why We Need Humility to Accept Both Human and Divine Forgiveness

In yesterday’s Daily Article, I chose not to discuss the Hunter Biden pardon and the rebuilding of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris for two very different reasons.

As the leader of a non-partisan ministry, I avoid commenting on partisan politics. However, President Biden’s pardon of his son continues to reverberate today in non-partisan ways that are impossible to ignore.

With regard to the Cathedral, I have no architectural or personal expertise to offer. However, I saw a story about the rebuilding project that demands my attention today.

A Thought Experiment

Let’s begin with President Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. My purpose is not to discuss the legalities behind the announcement. Nor is it to make this a partisan conversation, noting that presidential pardons of family members go back to Abraham Lincoln and have come from both Democrats and Republicans.

Rather, it is to propose a thought experiment.

Mr. Biden made his announcement Sunday evening, at a time when there would be less news coverage. Since he withdrew from the presidential race, he faces no future political costs to his decision. Apart from accusations of hypocrisy and other criticism, he will suffer no personal consequences. And his son, who would have been sentenced in two federal cases this month, is now spared punishment.

Now imagine that you or I stood in Hunter Biden’s place and the president pardoned us by sending his son to prison in our stead. Or even worse, we were on death row, justly convicted for our capital crimes, and Mr. Biden sent Hunter to die in our place.

This would, of course, mirror what our Father did when he sent his Son to be born in Bethlehem and crucified at Calvary.

Here’s another way the Hunter Biden pardon and our spiritual peril are similar: in both cases, the one being pardoned must accept the pardon. I can only think of three reasons a person wouldn’t do so:

They don’t know about the pardon.
They won’t admit they committed the crimes for which they are being pardoned.
They think they can win acquittal on their own merits.

Which brings me to our second story today.

“Impossible Is Not French”

When Notre Dame was rebuilt following a devastating fire five years ago, its 315-foot-tall spire was reconstructed and placed atop the cathedral. Atop the spire is a cross, as we would expect to adorn a Catholic church. But atop the cross is a golden rooster.

Why is it there?

The rooster has Christian roots, reminding us of the cock that crowed three times as Peter denied Jesus (Luke 22:60–62). The one atop Notre Dame contains three relics: a small piece of the supposed Crown of Thorns, a relic of St. Denis, and a relic of St. Geneviėve, the patron saint of Paris.

In addition, roosters were commonly used as weathervanes in medieval Europe owing to their supposed power to detect changes in the weather. Accordingly, they were placed atop churches and other buildings to help people prepare for storms and other meteorological events.

But the reason for the rooster standing atop the spire is what caught my attention. The coq gaulois, or Gallic rooster, is a symbol of the French people. The Latin gallus can mean Gaul (France) and coq, rooster. The rooster’s presence atop the rebuilt cathedral is therefore meant to signify the indomitable spirit of the French people.

As President Emmanuel Macron told 60 Minutes in their interview last Sunday night, “It’s French motto. Impossible is not French.”

“Those Nations Only Are Blessed”

America’s theological creed (and apparently that of France as well) could be, “God helps those who help themselves.” More than 80 percent of Americans believe the phrase is in the Bible, and three-fourths of those surveyed agree with its sentiment.

But as theologian Dean Ulrich notes,

“God does not help those who help themselves. Rather, he helps those who cannot help themselves, know it, and rely on him.”

This reminder is vital to Advent. Remembering our three reasons for refusing a pardon, we will miss the “reason for the season” and its transforming power if:

We don’t know that Jesus came to die in our place (Galatians 3:13);
We don’t believe we have committed sins for which we need pardon (Romans 6:23);
Or we try to save ourselves rather than accepting his pardon (Ephesians 2:8–9).

It is when we are moved deeply with gratitude for our eternal pardon that we are drawn intimately to the One who purchased it for us. Such dependence on God is absolutely crucial to our national future, as Abraham Lincoln observed:

It is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God . . . and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

Deep dependence on Christ is vital to our personal flourishing as well. Oswald Chambers, in what I consider to be the most powerful paragraph in My Utmost for His Highest, stated:

There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill his purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purpose, and yours may be that life.

What will you “maintain at all costs” today?

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote for the Day:

“Humility, the place of entire dependence on God, is the first duty and the highest virtue of the creature, and the root of every virtue. And so pride, or the loss of this humility, is the root of every sin and evil.” —Andrew Murray

Published Date: December 3, 2024

Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries. Denison Ministries includes DenisonForum.org, First15.org, ChristianParenting.org, and FoundationsWithJanet.org. Jim speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at Denison Forum. He is the chief author of The Daily Article and has written more than 30 books, including The Coming Tsunami, the Biblical Insight to Tough Questions series, and The Fifth Great Awakening.