The rocky road to forgiveness.
His blood ran
Rivers down his face
Dripping from his fingers
Raining from his feet.
The tree he was nailed to soaked the precious blood of our Savior into it’s dry pores.
The ungrateful dirt received the rest,
The lifeblood of the one who loved us best.
His pain so intense he couldn’t breathe.
Yet as he hung there utterly alone, he whispered, or did he summon the strength to shout?
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
I cannot fathom how Jesus thoughts were for us even as his life was draining. We ungrateful score-keepers and grudge-holders who abandon him daily, and stubbornly hold to our own paths.
Yet in two words he shows us how to live a life of peace.
Forgive them.
He knew that how we choose to respond when we are wronged can effect our life forever.
Unforgiveness leads to the spiraling staircase of unhappiness, darkness and despair.
Bondage of our own making.
We did not choose this road of angst, yet we must navigate it’s treachery with a humble heart and eyes to God.
Choose patience and you will find peace.
Choose to give and you will find abundance.
Choose kindness and you will find healing.
Choose to embrace and you will find comfort.
Chose to forgive and you will find forgiveness.
Choose to love unconditionally and you will find joy.
It is an action we must pursue for our own heart,
For our own healing.
To wait for the appropriate response of another is dangerous and uncertain path. Thinking an apology will set us on the way to freedom is a fruitless and empty pursuit.
If it comes with sincerity, be gracious.
It it feels false, be strong.
If it fails to come at all —realize it is your response that matters to God, not theirs.
Forgiveness many be an instantaneous decision, or more likely it will be a slow process fraught with setbacks.
We alone hold the key to our future:
One with God at its helm,
Or a future with our pain as the catalyst of chains around our tomorrows.
Sometimes our ego hurts
Our or vanity is bruised or even crushed.
But in the end—it can’t be about ourselves.
It has to be about our relationship with God who doesn’t demand more of us than we can give.
He doesn’t say “forgive if and when you feel like it.”
He knows that the only way to healing is letting go and trusting him who know what is best for us.
Why else would he command us to forgive?
****************
Matthew 6:14 “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part. (Msg)
-Satan says hold on, God says forgive. Who will you give your loyalty to today?
-Pray for a forgiving heart.