My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. - 1 John 2: 1-2
Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 45-46; 1 John 2
We have forgiveness.
Forgiveness is an amazing thing. What it does is it allows for the possibility of developing a relationship.
This is true in any relationship. Can you think of a single person in your life that hasn’t let you down at least once? What happened when they hurt you?
You had a choice to make. Either you were going to forgive them or not. Forgiveness is the fulcrum of all human relationships. The fortunes of the union pivot along forgiveness’s axis.
I know that I have been in relationships where either I or the other person refused to forgive. Those relationships ended up with one person trying their best to prove to the other that they were worthy of their companionship. This process can be really disheartening and painful. It really sucks to constantly live on the edge of acceptance or rejection. In the end the original offender gets hurt just as much as the person who was initially offended. The love is lost. The friendship cannot be mended.
Wounds don’t heal when we keep picking at the scabs.
That’s why this notion of divine forgiveness is so powerful to me. God’s forgiveness doesn’t tell me that I can keep on acting wild. On the contrary, forgiveness is an opportunity to come back home. It is a chance to look within myself and understand how I went wrong so that in the future I can do a better job of staying connected.
This forgiveness gives me hope. He helps me to get back up, dust myself off, and try again to be the best person I can be.
Walking in the light is not an easy thing to do. But with forgiveness it is not impossible either. It is a process. Through trial and error, setbacks and triumphs, and successes and failures we have infinite chances to build a lasting relationship with God that will lead us towards being the people that we want to be.
That possibility doesn’t start with me coming back to God. It starts with God’s door always being open.
-Wounds don’t heal when we keep picking at the scabs.-
ReplyDeleteSome people can't help but to do this. They prefer the ruin. It's cleaner as there's nothing left to maintain. Sadly, it isn't until after they have made sure that the door is sealed and can no longer be opened, that they realize they wish they would've just locked it. Allowing it to opened again at another time.
The thing about the light is it requires you to not think only of yourself. As you've mentioned several times, love above anything else. God has requirements of us. Luckily for us though (as you said), even when we don't/aren't meeting the requirements, God never closes the door on us. AND gives us another day to try again.
"Keep your face to the light and you won't see the shadows."-Helen Keller
True. Very true.
That's a great quote by Helen Keller. Really great.
ReplyDelete