The Freedom of Forgiveness

I had the opportunity this week to see forgiveness at work. I guess I actually saw the aftermath of forgiveness. I had gone to visit a man in the hospital who had been very sick. He was doing much better. God has been doing some pretty amazing things in his life both physically and spiritually. On the day that I visited him, forgiveness had come to him. That day, his sister, whom he had not spoken to in eight years, came to visit him in the hospital. He recounted the story for me. His wife was pushing him down the hall in a wheelchair when he saw his sister down the hall. He knew it was her. He called out her name and she turned to look. Through tears in his eyes and a cracking voice he told me that they had been reconciled that day. What an amazing story. He said that pride had taken root in his heart and grown into bitterness that kept him and his sister separated all of these years. He said it had been so hard for him to say he was sorry, but on this day, the words came easy. On that day, this man's life was drastically changed. He is a believer but on that day he became a follower of Jesus. Why? Because he had now given the forgiveness that Jesus had given him so many years before. The one thing that he said to me that had the deepest impact on me was that he said that he now felt free. He said he felt as if a great burden had been lifted from him. He felt as if he were going to make it. He said that he felt truly alive. This has been a long time in coming for sure. There is freedom in forgiveness. It is so hard for us to give because we allow pride to prevail. When pride goes unchecked in a conflict, it gives way to bitterness, which plants its roots deep in our souls and causes us to refuse to forgive. We have now become slaves to pride at this point. It becomes more about winning and being right that actually doing what is right. I don't think that forgiveness can truly be given until we have truly experienced forgiveness. Where there is freedom there is forgiveness. Forgiveness is only found in Christ. In this Christmas season, we discover the greatest gift that can be given is that of forgiveness. That is why the Christ-child came, was to bring God's forgiveness to man. If you have not accepted this forgiveness yet, I encourage you to do so. But just as we have received that forgiveness we are to give that same forgiveness to others. Maybe the best gift you can give someone this Christmas is to set them free and forgive them. Peace.

The Fickle Heart

I read Psalm 106 this morning. It recaps some of the history of the relationship between Israel and God. I could not help but think how the Psalmist captured the fickle heart of Israel. The fickle heart is the one that pursues God for a while and then, slowly, begins to pursue its own desires. The fickle heart "forgets" the goodness of God until it has become so deeply mired in itself that it has nowhere else to turn but to God alone. The Psalmist records for us such phrases as, "they did not remember your kindness...they soon forgot what He had done...they forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt." When life was good for Israel, they became proud and thought that the goodness they were enjoying was the fruit of their own labor, when they were living under the blessing of God all the time. Eventually, God gave them what they asked for (v. 15). I cannot help but see the church as Israel in this Psalm. So often we call out to God in the hardest of times, and sometimes not even then, and forsake Him in the best of times when we should be proclaiming His name. Our heart is fickle. We cast it before whatever is before us. The Psalmist put it this way, "by their deed they prostituted themselves" (v. 39). I wonder what we are mindlessly giving ourselves to as the church sometimes. I am not so naive as to think it is always Jesus, despite what we might say. There is a silver lining to this dark cloud though. In spite of all the times Israel turned her back on God, He remained constant. Over and again we read phrases like this "yet He saved them for His name sake...many times He delivered them...for their sake He remembered His covenant." There in lies the good news. Where man had forsaken the covenant he had made with God, God never forgot the covenant He made with man. The impact that has for the life of man is immeasurable. Let that thought soak in for just a second. In spite of all the things we have done to run away from God, He still pursues us out of deep love for us. This phrase sums it all up and gives us a great definition of God's grace, "out of His great love he relented." He did not give Israel nor us what we deserved based upon our actions. Hallelujah!! He relented. He let off and held off the judgement that was due us. In fact, His son, Jesus, took the Judgement in our place, bearing our sin and shame. I am so thankful this morning for God's great love for me. I hope that you will allow God's love to overflow you and fill you as you read this. I pray that the Holy Spirit will awaken your heart and turn it from fickleness to faithfulness. Remember, God pursues you with a passionate love, a love that never fails. Crash on!