IF YOU COULD ONLY FORGIVE

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Mat 5:48)

Many of us hopefully have seen some of our blessings through the scars and adversities that have come our way. But many who want to be made whole and find peace still hold on to the one thing that gives them a sense of fulfillment in a miserable world they call home. It is unforgiveness. Many Christians and churchgoers say they have forgiven someone, yet they will do all they can to avoid each other, even in church. There have been times that they will sit as far from each other in the church to avoid speaking to one or the other. Or if, by chance, they do come in contact with each other, the conversation is cold enough to form an iceberg that could sink the Titanic. God created every one of us to make a difference in the world based on the garden and the wilderness trail He has chosen for each of us. Genesis 2:15 says, “He placed us in the Garden to keep it.” As humanity stopped being accountable and responsible, distrust and perception became the surviving rule of self-containment. Your thought process says forgiving an unfaithful husband or wife is impossible. Your mental concept says that you cannot forgive your abusive parents. Because society says if they did it once, they will do it again, so be careful. You find it hard to forgive the church leader who took advantage of their position. Or how about the person that spreads malicious lies about you, but worse, how about your best friend that believed the vicious lies? God is calling us to total forgiveness, forgiving those who have hurt you and your loved ones. Remember, mom and dad, when your children feel someone has hurt their parents. You might as well have put a bounty on anyone’s head that represented the villain that hurt their family. Just as you learned from the adults around you, your children and the neighborhood children learned from you. Hello to all of our neighborhood mentors …………………...!

If there is going to be a difference in our lives, in our homes, in our communities, in our city, in our state, first we need to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”(Mat.6:33) We must repent, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”(Rom.3:23) Not only do we need to gain the character of Christ, but we also need to remember a quote by Gandhi, “Be the change that you want to see in others.” I leave you today with this: the ultimate proof of total forgiveness takes place when we sincerely petition Christ to let those who have hurt us off the hook, even if they have hurt us and those close to us. Remember, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” I sit here for no reason that I can humanly explain with tears in my eyes, praying and saying I’M SO GLAD JESUS LOVES ME.