Forgiven By
God’s Grace
Some of our
deepest wounds come from our families. If we allow them to eat away at us, they
will fester like a profound sore that won’t heal, consuming and tiring us to
the point of exhaustion, and emptying our hearts of the joy the Lord wants for
us. Bitterness accompanied by its cell mate jealousy or hate will rob us of
relationships God intended us to grow in.
Luke 15
tells of how Jesus shared several parables with the Pharisees and teachers of
the law, as they were mocking Him for welcoming sinners and eating with them. Apparently
they did not comprehend his intentions, or His Grace.
One parable
was about the son who requested his inheritance from his father, set off for
another country, squandered his wealth in wild living, and then returned to the
father requesting a place with the servants. Upon his arrival the father welcomed
him with open arms and orchestrated a grand feast to celebrate his return with music
and dancing after adorning him with a fine robe, sandals, and the family ring. The other son, who had been faithful to his
father all along, was very upset and bitter about how his father was treating
his brother, after all the wrongs he had committed. Many might say the brother
was justified for feeling that way; however the father is the one who “really
got it.” In Luke 15: 31-32 when approached by his other son, the father stated,
“My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to
celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and now he is
alive again; he was lost and is found.”
This father
is a symbol of our own Father God, who accepts us back into his family no
matter where we have been. In Matthew 8:11 Jesus proclaimed, “I say to you that
many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the
feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven.” God wants us all back, no matter who we are or
what we've done. Jesus modeled unconditional love while He walked this earth
and He expects us to do the same. In the long term scheme of things, what does
holding on to a grudge or negative emotions do for us? By His wounds we are healed. By God’s Grace we
are forgiven.
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we
forgive those who trespass against us.”
Listen to: 7X70 by Chris August
No comments:
Post a Comment