Good afternoon, friends. This is Pastor Don. I’ve been slowly making my way through a book written by a Buddhist author who is giving guidance about the spiritual life from his tradition. Just this morning, the topic was forgiveness and its role in moving us toward wholeness. Of course Christians understand this as well. Paul said in Ephesians 4: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
It is not at all unusual in our day to feel the wound left by another’s carelessness or intention. Neither is it unusual to allow that wound to settle into our souls and then begin to fester. Left untended, it can be like a tumor that eventually causes real problems in our spiritual lives.
When that happens, the route to healing will invariably call for us to forgive. Forgiveness isn’t about condoning or releasing another from the consequences of bad behavior. That’s not ours to do. Forgiveness is about setting ourselves free to move on. It is a way of letting go of the pain we’ve been carrying. It is setting ourselves free to be and become all we were meant by God to be.
This tumor of resentment and bitterness can sit inside our souls for years and we can become convinced that it isn’t bothering us. Then, sometimes, we discover that in our efforts to ignore the call to forgive, it has grown and is threatening to our very spiritual lives. The absolutely good news is that we can forgive in the same way that we have been forgiven by God. What good news!
Let’s Pray: Gracious God, forgiveness has been your specialty. May you grant us the freeing gift of forgiving those who wound us. Amen.
