How to Follow Christ – Forgivingness – Giving It

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have written about forgiveness before.  It relates so clearly to the essence of following Christ.  A day does not go by where I am not in need of it.  A day does not go by when I do not need to give it.  I think that this is a very difficult aspect of following Christ.

I am not sure how but failing to forgive weakens our faith.  It puts a barrier between God and us.  It strengthens the barrier between us and those we need to forgive.  Failure to forgive is failure to love.  Failure to love is the opposite of following Christ. 

When I feel anger or resentment towards someone whether it is just or unjust I must forgive them.  During the evening I think through my day.  I review the things that have offended me and assure that I have forgiven the offender.  If I have trouble forgiving someone I look to the reason that I am withholding love from them.  If I cannot figure it out, I plan to do something nice for them.

I find that going out of my way to be good to someone I have not forgiven helps me forgive them.  Someone said to me recently how hard it is for them to forgive.  I think that part of this is due to atrophy of the forgiveness muscle.  The more often we genuinely forgive the easier it is.  The less often we forgive the more difficult it becomes.

Pride and anger fuel the lack of forgiveness in me.  When I withhold forgiveness I am holding on to anger or demanding justice.  Sometimes the latter is justified but I am to trust God for justice and not seek it on my own.  One can seek justice and forgive at the same time.  I can forgive someone that rear ends me at a traffic light and still insist that he pay for the damages.  I can seek justice if I do it from a place of forgiveness.

I follow Christ by working to constantly forgive.  I have not come close to perfecting it but visiting it daily allows me to keep shorter accounts on my need to forgive.  I know that if I do not focus on forgiveness of even the deepest wrongs done to me then anger and bitterness grow in me quickly.  It is through active forgiveness that I find myself drawn to Christ more deeply. 

And when I failed you

When I’ve lost my way

Still I am drawn to you

Like a moth to a candle flame - Kemper Crabb – Candle Flam e

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."