Genuine Forgiveness

Because of our likelihood to sin, we have countless opportunities to forgive others. Perhaps we've been wrongly and repeatedly criticized, or we've been disappointed by broken promises, or injured financially or physically. In this fallen and broken world, our lists of hurts can be quite long.

Peter wondered how often we are required to pardon a wrong, asking if we should forgive "up to seven times?" Jesus replied to him, "I tell you, not seven times, But seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:21-22 NASB). In other words ... every single time.

Forgiveness isn't about finding reasons to justify someone's wrong behavior. Nor is it about forgetting what happened or pretending it never happened. That would mean nothing more than suppressing the pain and covering up the wrongs instead of lovingly working through the issues from all sides.

Genuine forgiveness requires deliberate action on our part. While we acknowledge that a wrong has taken place against us, we lovingly choose to release the offender from any obligation toward us. Really, what we are saying is that we will no longer hold this person's unfair behaviour against him, we are extending mercy, just as the Lord has done toward us.

We may think we're punishing the wrongdoer by withholding forgiveness, but we are the ones hurt worst by our own unforgiving attitude. Resentment is like a thick, sticky sludge, clogging our minds and hearts. Untreated anger quickly turns into bitterness, which obstructs and hinders our relationships and prevents us from experiencing the Father's love for us. An unforgiving spirit slowly poisons our very soul. The only known remedy is to forgive, once and completely.

********

I woke up early this morning and so my blog is going out early too. I don't know why I woke up. With me I never know. But once I decided I was awake I just decided to stay up. I had some reading to do. I forgot to read my Bible chapters last night (that resolution didn't last long!) so I read them this morning and then I got finished up with the reading of the first 16 chapters of Genesis. Now I'm current on my daily reading plan. It's amazing how just a couple chapters a night moves you right on through the pages. I thought about reading tonight's assignment as long as I was reading already but then decided not to do that. The whole idea is for me to sit in a quiet house and read my chapters just before going to bed. That's my resolution. I just thought it would be a nice habit to work into my routine. A chance to wind down before bed and come before the Lord and read His Word.

I was elected chairperson for the Deacon's Board last night. Sure hope I can handle it; I haven't done anything in a leadership capacity for years. And years! I tried to get out of it because of my hearing loss but I wasn't successful. I came home from the meeting and wrote out all my cards for the month, as well as four other cards sent out for different reasons (Thinking of You and Thank You cards.) I should go to the library and research Roberts Rules of Order. (I think that's the right thing.) Brush up on how to be a chairperson. I have a list of responsibilities spelled out for me but I'm really rusty on bossing people around LOL! No, all kidding aside, I think I can do it. I'll make mistakes as I go along but I'll learn from them. Actually it feels pretty good to step up to the plate after all these years. Once there was a time when I managed more than four different departments and up to fifty people for ICC in the Bay Area. But that was another lifetime ago.

I'll need to set up a form on Michael's computer for the agenda so that all I'll have to do will be to plug in the items under each heading and be done with it each month. Or I could completely type it out new each month. It's not like I'm too busy, you know? And I think I need to get a bigger binder to work with because I will be holding onto more things and my binder now is bursting at the seams as it is. I'll get Joann to help me when I don't know what to do. She's really good about that. Can you tell I'm nervous about my new role???? LOL. I can't even organize my thoughts this morning. Sorry about that! I think I can do it and then a wave of fear and doubt washes over me.

I spent yesterday afternoon writing and it amazes me how fast the time whips by when I'm writing. But I want to get as far ahead as I can before I start changing my blog and working with the new material. I look forward to doing something different. I've grown bored with my blog as it is now. I hope changing is a good idea. I think it will be. It may be a little rough in the beginning but I enjoy writing so much and this new format will prevent me from borrowing from other writers because it's all about what I believe. There's just something that doesn't feel right when I borrow. The satisfaction of doing it all myself is lost when I do that. I mean, I'm not trying to "steal" material and get away with it (I've always readily acknowledged that I borrow from other writers). It's just that I don't feel true to myself when I do that.

Well, I'm out of things to talk about. The only errands I have to run today are to swing by the church and get an address, go to the post office and mail all my cards, and then drop by Kelly's and pick up the rest of one of my prescriptions. (They didn't have quite enough to completely fill it yesterday.) Okay, that's it. Until Monday ... (Can't believe it's Friday already!!!)