Faith Venture

One afternoon this week I chatted with a neighbor. We began discussing some local churches. As we ran through a list, I mentioned one larger (but not mega) church a bit of a drive from us. I told her I would likely avoid that one, because I knew a family that was a big contributor there. A guy in the family had lied and cheated and trashed a business deal. I would just as soon avoid contact.

Every morning as I sit at my desk preparing to meditate for a while, I see two note cards. One has  what NT Wright calls “Paul’s Shema;” the other one Dallas Willard’s paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer (the Our Father). Every morning the word forgive seems to be highlighted for me.

I guess I have confidence in God’s forgiveness. It’s me. Can I forgive all the many injustices I’ve faced? But my experienced injustices are nothing compared to those faced by black people in America, or gay people everywhere, or Muslims in India, or Christians in many countries. If they can forgive, what stops me?

Mostly, I just move on. I process it, forgive completely, then mostly boot it out of my mind. Sometimes something happens that brings recollection. But the emotion is gone. Long since dealt with.

I have learned and evidently practiced the virtue of focusing on the things within my control and pushing aside those that I cannot. That ability has made my life so much better.

This entry was posted on May 24, 2023 at 11:04 am and is filed under forgiveness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.