Forgive and Forgiven
A long time ago, when I was in a parochial grade school, our teacher shared with me that our heart has a door but the only handle to that door is on the inside. Well that was fascinating indeed!! My little mind could hardly conceive of my heart having a door, and then to think that that door could be opened or kept shut added to the intrigue. Then to know it only had a handle on the inside was very mysteriously exciting. Of course, I did not know what that teacher was really sharing with me until the whole action of forging and refusing to forgive became part of who I am.
God’s heart is the same as our heart for we believe we are made in his image. He chose to open his heart from the inside to include you and me, and then in the prayer our Lord gives to us, he encourages us to do the same—forgive as you have been forgiven. Learning to forgive and accept forgiveness is a difficult but freeing activity.
Who is it that you need to forgive today? From whom are you looking for forgiveness? Include actual names in your prayers and then take the next step of either saying you forgive or acknowledging the beauty of hearing the words of forgiveness given to you. “I forgive you”, “thank you for forgiving me.”
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for forgiving me, help me to forgive those who have hurt me.
Pastor Jerry
