English: David’s Joy Over Forgiveness; as in Psalm 32; illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Devotional Thought of the Day:

 ⁸  Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. ⁹  That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. ¹⁰  Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; ¹¹  Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth. ¹²  God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he’s asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things.1 Peter 3:8-12 (MSG)

¹²  Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.  Matthew 6:12 (TEV) 

454         Thank the Lord for the enormous gift he has granted you by making you understand that “only one thing is necessary.” And, along with that thanksgiving, may no day go past without your offering a prayer of petition for those who don’t know him yet or have not understood him.

Yesterday was a day full of injustice.

One of the “biggest” injustices of course (said partially toungue in cheek) was the Patriots being robbed of a victory, as a penalty was called because a player was mugged and couldn’t catch the touchdown pass.  He was robbed and assaulted… and we lost.

Another was set the Christian tweet world a fire, as someone labelled Bible in a costo with the department code for fiction when they priced them.  You would have thought by the reaction, that Christians were being fed to the lions and soacked in pitch and set aflame to light Nero’s garden again.

There are so many things that people are upset about these days, even ot the point of tempers boiling and relationships and reputations being completely devastated.

We expect others to be perfect – 60sigma perfect (a business term is 6 sigma – errors less that  0.000000 percent of the time – we expect 60 zeros, not 6)) and we get really, really frustrated we then expect us to be perfect 60% of the time.

Dare you bring in forgiveness to such conversations, forgiving their wrongs, or forgiving our own failues, well, let’s just say I expect stress bringing up forgiveness. The storm caused may settle, or may not settle for a while, as people find forgiveness a difficult task.  Indeed, we often don’t want to , we don’t thinki it is needed.

If forgiveness is made law, if we say, “you have to forgive your brother, you have to forgive that clerk, your must forgive those refereess.. you can’t help that they are blind!” then forgiveness won’t happen.  It just won’t.  You will find a myriad of excuses, a thoughand arguements about why forgiveness, God style forgiveness is neither possible, nor prudent.

But forgiveness that comes out of our times of communion with God, times where we see Him take the sin that burdens us and cleanse us of its filth and infesction.  Times like prayer, times like when we meditate on our baptism, when we receive the Lord’s Body and Blood, times when we read of His love and mercy, and the peace He gives us to live in, the peace in which He keeps our hearts and minds secure. It is from that place, sitting at the feet of Jesus, that mercy flows, that forgiveness is not a decision, it just happens, Where the person’s salvation, where their ability to live in the presence of God becomes more important than their error. Forgiveness flows from realizing you have been rought into the glory of God, and seeing them trying to live without it.

Yeah – so a refereee made the 2nd worst call in Patriots history..The referees don’t need to be ridiculed – they need Christ.

Yeah – so a sticker said the Bible was fiction?   The people involved don’t need condemnation – they need Christ.

Ultimately, it is a matter of trusting Christ, that all things will work for good for those who love Him.  If it is a matter of faith, then the place where our trust is strongest in Him, is when we realize we are in His presence, living at His feet. As to dealing with things that were unjust and unfair and being robbed,,, He let us rob Him of his dignity, of his righteousness, and of His lifee.  So that we could share in His glory…. and His reason He allowed the injustice, was to be able to forgive!

Let us go into His presence.. and become people of mercy!

Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2007-2009). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.

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