Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Tuesday August 4, 2009

On Saturday, a little ahead of schedule I sent the rough draft of my manuscript using the working title, "Outrageous Forgiveness In 30 Days" to the publisher to begin the editing procedure. Editing my work is a chore in that most of what I remember about English is that the teacher was gorgeous.

All preachers know what all writers know, the sermon or the book is never finished. Therefore I have a wealth of decent sayings about forgiveness that turned up after the copy was sent. I like today's:

"Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another."

Jean Paul Richter wrote the above and it certainly gives pause for thought, which is one of the stated goals of the daily letters.

Richter encapsulates the two sides of a strong person in that strong people have trouble agreeing with anyone, including God, that they are wrong. Asking for forgiveness is a sincere admission of wrong doing, thinking or feeling. It is to agree with God/Bible about the nature of the offense and asking for the needed forgiveness. We are comforted by numerous passages assuring us that God is anxious to forgive, and the He understands our frame in that we are but dust.

On the other side of the coin forgiving those who trespass against requires the strength of humility and the understanding that forgiving means forgoing our right to demand a pound of flesh as our due for the hurt/loss involved in the offense. Christian forgiveness is enabled to do this because we do it; at least we are supposed to, for "Christ's sake."

I speak and write about the outrageous aspect of forgiveness because I have so much trouble practicing this grace. I woke up the other night thinking,

"It might be easier to forgive those who literally kill you than to suffer greatly at the hands of anther yet continue to live and observe over the course of time how greatly they prosper."

The only thing to do is believe the scripture and follow the Word, and the example of the great ones such as Stephen, and simply remind myself/yourself that mine/ours is to forgive and God's is to deal justly with offenses, which He does through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son at Calvary. God settles for this and so should we.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2009 Use with credit.

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