Joy is not working out for me today. The aftermath of all that's happened in the past week has been more than I can bear emotionally and I'm completely broken. I'm struggling with panic, fear, and stress that doesn't seem to go away no matter how hard I pray, breathe, or talk things through! I suppose it's normal to have good days and bad days, but sheesh.
Yesterday we heard a really good sermon on undeserved grace. I know the point was probably for us to realize how much we need God's grace, but instead God drove home the point that I need to forgive the person or people who broke into our home. I've been shown so much grace and God has loved me since before I did anything good... shouldn't I be an agent of that grace to others? Even if they aren't deserving? (who is deserving, anyway?)
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved. --Ephesians 2:4
I made a first step toward forgiveness, but I know that it's probably not as simple as saying "I forgive them" once. I expect that it will come up over and over as I realize just how much I'm actually forgiving them for.
Am I alone? Has anyone out there had to forgive someone for something that seemed unforgivable or for something that was still producing negative effects? I'd love to hear some other thoughts on this.
-JLR
Are Our Headlights Out? (July 26, 2021)
5 years ago
Posts
3 comments:
I'm so sorry to hear about the break in! That is totally heartbreaking. Forgiveness can be challenging. Sometimes it takes time, and although we'd like it to be instantaneous, it's not. Praying for peace for you and your home!
Thanks Alison. We're making it through this one day at a time and definitely realizing that forgiveness is not as instantaneous as we'd like it to be!
Hi Jeana. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. We've certainly struggled with what forgiveness does and doesn't mean, and I'm not sure the church necessarily teaches what forgiveness is - just that it is important. It can be easy for us to say forgiveness is important, but I think until we're in the situation it's difficult to understand what that really means.
We've been thinking that it doesn't mean forgiving and forgetting - pretending that nothing happened. After all, Jesus alluded to Peter's denial, presumably after he had forgiven him, and I think it also makes sense to protect ourselves from being hurt in future even when we've forgiven the person who has hurt us.
So what does it mean? One possibility we have thought is not wishing bad to happen to the person, but to really want good for them, which presumably involves their repentance and changing...
I'm not sure though... I think it's probably something we should take time to study more in the Bible - it's obviously something that is at the heart of following Jesus, but I'm not really sure what forgiving someone who has hurt you actually means in practice.
What do you think? Do you guys feel that you know what forgiveness is and that it's just hard to do, or are you like us in struggling to know exactly what it means to forgive someone who has hurt you?
Post a Comment