Today’s scripture: Luke 17:1-4 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Ben Lamb):
Writing this Be Still and Know entry is turning into a labor of, well. . . long, lumbering, laborious labor. Why is it that I have such a hard time writing about forgiveness? (Apparently, Someone seems to know I need the practice.)
When I forgive someone, I lose something. I have to give up resentment and anger. Drat. That means I can’t continue to run around complaining about how terribly someone is treating me. I lose the thrill of being an excessive drama dude and reciting my well-rehearsed “woe is me” monologue. I can’t commence with posting on Facebook how awful someone is. I can’t proceed to tweet a rant of 140 characters across the globe.
It also means that I have to give up the presumption that the person who has sinned (or missed the mark) owes me something as atonement for the wrongful actions. I no longer can hang onto that sense of superiority and the belief that the other person is indebted to me. It’s not an easy action for me to re-set my opponent’s “Sin-o-Meter” back to zero and allow said sinner to have a fresh start.
But, it also means that I gain some things. By letting go of resentment and not obsessing on a matter, I gain more time to become productive in a positive way. I notice that my blood pressure goes down. I sleep better. My tense muscles relax more. I gain more experience in the art of showing God’s love and compassion to others.
A related topic that I’ve struggled with over the years is what to do about having been wronged by someone who doesn’t choose to ask for forgiveness, or perhaps has even died since the event(s)? Personally, I’ve found it worthwhile in the long run to make myself work on forgiving those people, too.
Jesus exhibited the ultimate act of forgiveness while on the cross. If I claim to be a follower of Jesus, I need to work on the art of genuine forgiveness, too.
Thought for the day: As the saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” Forgiveness on the level Jesus showed requires a lot of practice.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.