Friday, 25 February 2011
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Forgiveness Doesn't Come From A Vending Machine
By Bonnie at Faith Barista“Where you are most human, most yourself, weakest, there Jesus lives.” ~ Henri Nouwen.
A couple months ago, I found myself scrunched elbow to elbow at San Francisco’s hallowed grounds for fresh baked croissants at Tartine Bakery.
It’s the one place I’ve found that has brought me back to France, if just for a momentary bite. I enjoy it hot right out of the oven — balancing my pastry while standing up against a counter, one coffee cup away from a twenty-something couple out on a first date.
I noticed the cool T-shirt the guy was wearing (my husband was next to me) and I asked if I could take a picture of it.
It was an artistic statement about love.
A guy put some coins into a vending machine for his heart, but couldn’t get to what he wanted. His heart, like a Snicker’s Bar stuck in the twirly thingamajig, hung in the balance.
Learning to forgive has felt the same.
Motivated by a honest desire to obey Scriptures that point to forgiveness, my efforts to forgive others who have hurt me deeply — and myself — fell short of reach.
What I needed was not inflicting more self-guilt or denial.
What I needed was faith.
Truth Be ToldI made the mistake thinking forgiveness was a one time act of conviction.
If I forgave, I wouldn’t be angry any more…
– I wouldn’t be so hurt…
– I would be more brave…
Truth be told, all I really wanted was to forget.
What I really wanted was a vending machine called Forgiveness.
The forgiveness God offers in return is more like love.
Forgiveness begins with an awareness of my need to be free from pain and hurt. But it doesn’t stop there.
Forgiveness challenges us to let go and become the Beloved in God’s eyes, rather than the victim of others and ourselves.
Forgiveness begins, continues daily until we get to heaven, running on one fuel: faith.
Forgiveness is all about faith.
Why Forgiveness Takes FaithAfter taking some new steps as the Beloved last week, giving myself permission to be loved, I wasn’t surprised to came face to face with some old wounds that suddenly opened fresh.
My first reaction was to beat myself up for falling into the same old trap. Then, I remembered God’s grace.
I realized the feelings overwhelming me were just my humanity.
And Jesus was right there next to me, comfortable and at ease with my frailty. Loving me.
It’s amazing how love can release a girl to have a good cry. I talked to my Hubby and called up a girlfriend.
Then, I flipped through some Scriptures that gave my soul some comfort food.
Here are a few:
1. If you’re struggling to forgive yourself: Take steps that reflect your choice to believe that you are forgiven by God (despite what others or you might think).
“So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins “-then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” Matt. 9:6
2. If you’re struggling to forgive others: Remember this is hard stuff, but Jesus said even faith as small as a mustard seed has enough to get you through this journey.
(After Jesus told them forgiveness needs to happen seven times seven times a day…)
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith !”
And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea ‘; and it would obey you.” Luke 17:5-7
3. If you thought you forgave, but feel guilty you still struggle with anger or hurt feelings: God sees our hearts and His grace looks at our need greater than our performance. Grieving continues after we have chosen to forgive. The person who still grieves is the person we once were, hurt and angry. No matter. God is still making us new.
“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus… For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:11,14
To practice forgiveness the way Jesus calls us to, we are inviting God to enter into our pain — a place of faith.
Forgiveness, after all, was never meant to be robotic.
That’s why God gives us grace.
What have you found in your journey to forgive?
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- From: faithbarista
- Name: Bonnie
- About Me: Welcome to Faith Barista – a blog that serves up shots of faith for everyday Christian living. Are you after that fragrant aroma of Christ in your daily cup? If so, there's a chair here with your name on it. Stay and comment awhile, won't you?
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Comments (6)
Forgiveness, like love, is a choice. I JUST did a blog about it here: http://mtngirlsouth.xanga.com/742088936/forgiveness-the-bitter-truth/ And what I have found is that mean people like to try to take this concept and use it to their advantage. That is more of what MY blog was about.
My Mummy and Daddy said while it's hard to forgive, God wants us to. God loves us all.
I love God but I make God angry because I am naughty sometimes. Mummy and Daddy told me to pray everyday.
In my experience, one of the greatest treasures of forgiveness is freedom.......freedom from the bitterness, freedom from a need for revenge, freedom from being stuck in past events, freedom to care again, freedom to bless the offender etc. Forgiveness allows a person to move forward in life, just as if all that stuff (whatever that stuff is) never happened. I have come to treasure that sense of freedom that forgiveness purchases for me. I see it in much the same light as God's forgiveness in the person of Christ offers to me. That forgiveness set me free from the power of sin. It also set me free from the power of my past sins that used to taunt and manipulate me.
I think forgiveness is a huge battle in Christian lives.......it is not easy, but as Jesus says, we must do it. As with everything in Scripture, it is for our benefit. Often we think forgiving is something that benefits the other person....we say I forgive you as if somehow it is a blessing we bestow upon them.......and it might be, but the biggest blessing is the one we receive in doing so.
So often I have heard this spoken in Christian circles.....forgiveness is a journey, or there are different stages in forgiveness, or forgiveness is a series of steps. All of which is unscriptural and not to be found in the Bible. This thinking allows people to think they have forgiven, but somehow the feelings of bitterness or rage will be dealt with later in the journey or that these things are worked out in later stages of forgiveness. According to my read of Scripture, there are only 2 sides of the issue......forgiveness or unforgiveness. We are in one area or the other. So to consider that we have forgiven and yet are still experiencing bitterness or anger is just a lie......it allows us to live with our unforgiveness and not deal with it.....because we think we have already forgiven. But the fruit of forgiveness which is freedom is not there.
It is strange when people say.......oh I have forgiven so and so........but they won't speak to them or they cross over to the other side of the street when they see them coming. I always think......is that the way you want God to forgive you? So you get to Heaven and He is avoiding you and won't speak to you? When we have really forgiven someone, we will be free of those things that make us want to cross to the other side of the street.
blessings.......thanks for the post.
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http://www.shoes4world.com/
Let's redo the photo caption to say "Another Paid the Price."
Now, what comments can we pair with that one?