August 2, 2020 (Sunday)
Today is International Forgiveness Day.
This is a true story. I may not remember all the details totally correctly, because it has, after all, been a long, long time since this happened.
The lady was losing weight. She was not eating well because she was so upset. She was upset because her feelings had been hurt. Her sister had hurt her and had never apologised. The more she thought about it, the more hurt she felt. Her nerves were on edge. She was tired due to lack of nourishment. She could not sleep because she lay on her bed at night visualizing her sister hurting her over and over — again and again. The truth is, she was getting sick, physically, because of her resentment. She started doing better after a while, and, in due time, she was well again. I spoke with her at a social gathering one evening, and she began telling me her story, how her sister had hurt her and how it had made her feel. Then, as it seems she was looking past me at some sort of apparition, her eyes widened, a broad smile came across her face and she stared at me. As she stared, she started talking. “After weeks of mental anquish over this, i suddenly came to a conclusion. It was as if I had learned something I never knew. It dawned on me..’I can forgive her!’ And that’s exactly what I did. Right then and there, I forgave her, asking the Lord to remove all my painful feelings. I got my appetite back, I started sleeping at night, and I got along better with everyone.”
The Bible has a lot to say about forgiveness–His forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others. When I was in the first grade, we started each day with the pledge of allegiance to the American flag, a patriotic song and The Lord’s Prayer. We all learned all three things. Perhaps we did not understand them completely, but we memorized them and repeated them every morning at school. Part of that prayer is, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” I memorized the prayer, but did not fully understand it. I would learn the true meaning later as I learned to forgive others.
Jesus went so far as to say, “If you won’t forgive others, God won’t forgive you.” Does it actually say that? Indeed it does. Look, I don’t write the script for the Christian life, I just read it as it is in Matthew 6:14-15.
Jesus avoided quoting law to us; he preferred to tell us stories. When he decided to teach us about forgiveness, he did not quote some “Thou Shalts” or “Thou Shalt Nots,” he just told us stories about it. He told us about the prodigal son who repented and came back home. He told us about his forgiving father. He shared with us that the father, who had been insulted and hurt by his selfish son, had a big celebration in his son’s honor. It was His way of teaching us about love and forgiveness, about the grace of God. The lesson for everyone is, “God loves and forgives us; we need to love and forgive others.”
HELP ME TO FORGIVE
Chris Falson
Falsely accused,
You were beaten and bruised,
Though you didn’t protest
Or claim your innocence
But, crucified by evil men
You cry, “Father, forgive them.”
Help me to forgive
As I have been forgiven
Help me to forget
All my sorrow and pain
Lord, help me to forgive
Clothe me in your mercy
LORD fill me with your grace,
When peace like a river flows through me
Lord I can forgive.
My will is to shamefully defy Him
Who chose to reconcile fallen men
To the Risen Lord
But still hatred burns
And it is blind
Take me to the Cross
Where your love still shines
Help me to forgive
As I have been forgiven
Help me to forget
All my sorrow and pain
Lord, help me to forgive
Clothe me in your mercy
LORD fill me with your grace,
When peace like a river flows through me
Lord I can forgive.
Help me to forgive
As I have been forgiven
Help me to forget
All my sorrow and pain
Lord help me to forgive
Clothe me in your mercy, Lord
Fill me with your grace
When peace like a river flows through me
Lord I can forgive.
Help me to let it go
Let forgiveness flow
When it flows through me, Lord, I can forgive
Reading from Lord’s Prayer:
“We forgive those who trespass against us”