It's Time to Forgive

Forgiveness is foundational to our faith. Throw away forgiveness and you throw away the entire plan of salvation. The whole reason Jesus came to earth was to demonstrate the greatest act of forgiveness on behalf of the Father.

I mean think about it - imagine you build a new house, custom made, fully furnished, with the pantry and fridge fully stocked and you invite a beloved friend to come and occupy the house and have the full run of EVERYTHING, except ONE tree. I mean, you gave them EVERYTHING with ONE small stipulation, and THAT’S the very thing they go and do...and in doing so, the whole beautiful situation you painstakingly created for them is destroyed.

How would you feel? Disrespected? Betrayed? Angry? Disappointed? Absolutely. All of the above. That’s just someone messing up one little situation. Imagine the same situation and the violation actually severing the relationship between God and His entire human creation. God had a lot to forgive and yet, He forgave us.

Not only did He forgive us, but He thought about the necessary means of forgiveness. You see, the forgiveness of sin requires the shedding of innocent blood and imperfect sacrifices only get you temporary atonement, so God the Father, sent God the Son, to earth as the perfect Lamb of God slain for your sins and mine. It’s one thing to FORGIVE sin, but it is something far more wonderful to sacrifice your Only Begotten Son to pay the price for that forgiveness. When you think about it, it’s mind blowing.

This truth leaves us without excuse to extend forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. Jesus teaches us that the requirement for receiving forgiveness is to extend forgiveness to others who have wronged us. Not doing so only causes our own souls to become poisoned with bitterness and resentment. Not forgiving actually hinders our prayers from being answered as well.

We will talk more about this in future installments, but I want you to sit with this today and think about how much grace you have received from God. Out of the overflow of that gratitude, you can find strength to do the often hard work of forgiving others. You can do it, and God will help you.

Just some thoughts,

Bishop

P. S. God is moving on Main Street. You oughta come see us. Sundays at 9 am and 11 am at 120 E. Main Street, Humble, Texas 77338. DCI is the most loving church in Greater Houston and we’re even better when YOU’RE there!