Forgiveness

Forgiveness equals renewal

But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. Psalm 130:4

Failure and forgiveness. How many times must we forgive our neighbor and ourselves? Seven times? Jesus said more than that: seventy-seven times. Perhaps this is an illustration of forgiveness beyond the mere act. It is to recognize that we are dependent not on ourselves, but on God. We cannot see into the heart of another but God can. He does not condemn; we condemn ourselves when we don't forgive because instead of following forgiveness with actions we continue to behave in the same old way. Jesus also said to go and sin no more. When we fully engage with Christ and his message to us we take forgiveness to another level and begin to live according to his example. We become renewed.

Faith

Why, Lord?

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (NIV)

There is so much emotional upheaval in my life I scarcely know how to fix it, or more specifically fix those who are causing the turmoil. Perhaps therein lies the problem. Me thinking I can fix anything. It’s way past time to lay it at Jesus feet and let him take it up. My “fixes” have only made those I’m trying to help dependent on me, not on God. What will happen when I trust the Lord and stop fretting about things I cannot change? Am I willing to place my trust in him and let it go at that? How do I know what God expects of me or am I being too analytical? Today seems no better than yesterday as I struggle with conscience verses good sense, and above all – Faith, believing God is at work and his outcome for those I love is in his hands. A loved one’s illness, another’s selfish disregard for anyone else, these people who I love and whose lives are in such turmoil – I cannot fix them or their lives; I must trust in the Lord. And then it hits me. I’ve made this all about me. Maybe the fix needs to start in my heart, beginning with faith, forgiveness and letting go. God is at work. That's all I need to know.

Renewal

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

As I write this northern New Mexico wind howls outside sweeping away snow clouds; it stirs in me recollections of winters past. When I was a child we lived in Hobbs, New Mexico, where snow was rare, but I recall those magical times when we would come out of church on a Sunday morning and find an overlay of new snowfall that muffled everything, creating a crust of white making the world look fresh and new. That’s what happens when we have a relationship with God. He muffles the noise of the world so we can hear His voice. He covers our transgressions with forgiveness and creates in us a clean heart, one able to take in His love and then share it with others. Just as the snow changes the landscape of the world, God changes us.