Hello
Today’s Holy Nougat requires small bites for absorption and re-enactment. Handle with prayer
“Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.” Luke 17:3 ASV
What does forgiveness look like when someone close sins against/offends us? I would that I have the right to suggest The Solution, but I don’t. Far often than not, forgiveness does not come easily to me. It may be meted out eventually, sometimes grudgingly (now that’s an oxymoron isn’t it – grudging forgiveness); but forgiveness is not always my default mode.
Rather, depending on the offense, the judge or slaughtered lamb comes into play whether or not a rebuke accompanied an acknowledgment of the wrong. And so it is with many of us. This is dangerous as it may beget ‘pharasaic’ approaches to errors by others, while others go unchecked.
Unfortunately, I am not alone. In several instances, we do not correct one who has committed an offense. Instead, we demonize the individual, sometimes even sharing information with persons not directly impacted by our rants. Or should we say ‘ouch!’
Naturally, we would that those who have wronged us should repent upon correction. But that is not always the case (ask the participants in Truth and Reconciliation hearings). No one wants to be in the wrong and “I am sorry” is one of the most difficult phrases to utter in any language. So here’s a thought – if repentance/apologies don’t come easily to us; do we have the moral right to be offended when it is not offered? Perhaps that is when grace must be extended to the other (just as grace is extended until we repent).
So how do we go forward from here? I suspect it begins with an acknowledgement of our own sin and then prayerfully seeking the grace to forgive.
In Your mercy Lord, may we forgive
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
