Grace is the word of the day.
First from my daily reading from sayings of the Desert Fathers–It is said a brother came to the abbot and said that a brother insulted him and he wanted revenge. The abbot counseled to leave vengeance to God. The brother replied that he still wished vengeance. The abbot replied, OK, let us pray. “O God, we no longer need your help since we are going to take vengeance ourselves.” The brother said he would no longer quarrel with his brother.
Later as I listen to the weekly teaching from Willow Creek during my 5:30 am exercise, Bill Hybels teaching on Matthew 18—the story of king who forgives much and the servant, once forgiven, who proceeds to physically accost his debtors demanding instant payment—teaches on grace. The complete forgiveness of the Father. He notes that the servant violated the etiquette of forgiveness.
Hybels asked if you are moved by the singing of Amazing Grace. I know that my spirit is moved by the song.
The question of the day for us is—Can we forgive others as God has forgiven us?
I’ve had a number of conversations—even just today—where grace is needed and grace is given. But as we know, forgiving does not necessarily mean forgotten. That’s another problem.
And forgiving also does not mean accepting back as though nothing had happened. Perhaps someone who has betrayed you can be forgiven. That does NOT mean necessarily that you will trust them again. That trust must be earned back. And that is difficult.
In my life, sometimes grace means that I forgive in my heart and mostly forget. But often it means that I no longer have those people in my life. I move on. Every day is new. Every day brings new people into my life. And some days, there are necessary endings of people whom I just need to remove from my life.
Tags: forgiveness, grace
Faith Venture 
June 30, 2015 at 6:47 am |
Reblogged this on Inspirational Messages of Grace.