Forgive

Have you ever considered God to be as distant as the stars he created? Have you ever felt God to be a stern disciplinarian ready to punish you when you say something you shouldn’t say or do something you shouldn’t do? If you believe God is out of reach, then reconsider the Person named Jesus.

Sometimes, a fresh start calls for leaving behind the things that were our identity. That’s what happened to a man Jesus called from a tax booth.

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” That’s what C. S. Lewis wrote in his compelling book, Mere Christianity. Forgiveness is a great concept until we must put it into practice. Do you have someone you need to forgive?

When we pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are putting forth a risky offering. We are asking that God’s perfect will be worked through our lives. And we are placing ourselves in submission to that perfect will. For Jesus, that meant death—even death on a cross! What will that prayer mean for you? I don’t know what it will mean, but here are some things it could mean.

It was going to be a tough meeting. Those sitting around the table had some real issues with each other. You could feel the tension—so thick you could cut it with a knife, as the saying goes. I knew this time together could blow up in my face.

From the first moment of the miraculous conception, Jesus humbled himself. He was “made in human likeness” to die in our place on the cross. He gave his life as our substitute to make it possible for us to have peace with God.

It is time to get rid of any other gods in your life. The Lord God is a jealous God. He is El Kanna.

If you are not willing to forgive others of their relatively small debt, God will not forgive you of the great debt you have accumulated.

Forgiveness is a two-way street.