It's Like That Silence
a Sonbeam from warren and mary beth
A day or two ago, I was thinking back to when Matthew and Crash were
nap-taking age, you know, preschool or so. Sometimes I would be the
one to lie down with them to quiet them down. With a smile on my
face, I remember the many times when they were in a playful mood,
not wanting to be still or be quiet, either.
So this morning I thought about the word silence. During those
nap-attempts, as long as I was correcting them, there could be no
silence, because I was the problem. Silence was impossible because
of what I was doing wrong.
That same thing holds true when asking God for forgiveness. We don't
deserve His forgiveness, but He gives it anyway. When we confess our
sins and truly repent of them….. no matter how bad, when things
happened, no matter how often……when we repent……He forgives us.
However, before any one of us can receive God's forgiveness, He
requires we forgive others first. God knows how destructive it is to
us, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, when we harbor
anything against someone else. Unforgiveness hinders God's love
flowing through us.
When we hold a grudge against a friend, family member, pastor,
former spouse, anyone…….. for what they did to us, said about us,
did to someone we love or how they offended us in any way…… we limit
our availability to God. Forgiveness is just like that silence: we
must be quiet first...... and we must forgive others first.
Into His Word
"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any:
that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your
trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which
is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Jesus speaking in Mark
11:25-26, King James Version
"And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not
all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive--only then
will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean
of sins." Jesus speaking in Mark 11:25-26, The Message
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone,
forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your
sins." Jesus speaking in Mark 11:25-26, New International Version
|
