This morning I am sitting in front of the computer, after a round of golf that was verya verage at best, pondering the message for this week. The lessons have to do with the issue of forgivness andhow there are times in our lives we would prefer that God would not forgive people, because we don't want to forgive them either.
This side of human nature is not a pretty one. There are times when we like to hold onto our grudges, onto our pains, because we think that they give us power over others. If they hurt us, we may think, then the right think for me to do is hurt them back.
Luckily, this is not God's view. God is so concerned with his relationship with us that he is willing to look past all of the ways we may have hurt him in the past in order to have a healthy relationship with us now and in the future.
He also desires for us to have helathy relationships with others, and this means moving past the pains of the past so that we can grow in our love of others.
So today, I offer a challenge. Take some time and think of some of the strained relationships in your life. What is a healthy way for both you and the other person that you can move forward in your relationship? What needs to take place in order that you can forgive that person and grow in your love of them? Then try to put your thoughts into action.
May you be blessed with loving and caring relationships in your life.
