From our Pastor, Daphne Clement
\nTrue forgiveness opens the heart making us tender and available to God. Without practicing forgiveness, we loose the capacity to give and to receive. If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.<\/p>\n
Everyone has plenty to forgive: even if our parents were the best of parents there is alwayssomething to forgive, our mates and children, our friends, our boss or supervisor\u2026 we must forgive life, the world and God\u2026 and last but not least\u2026 the greatest challenge of all\u2026 let us forgive ourselves.<\/p>\n
What keeps us from forgiving? Forgiving life & God for the disappointments, the losses and hardships\u2026 sometimes the soul just gets weary, turning bitter and cold. This can be a dangerous time for without a tender heart we are so prone to judge\u2026 the act of judging others or ourselves binds the judged person\u2026 self or other\u2026 fast, to a chair\u2026 tying and gagging them there, limiting potential growth and change. When we judge another or ourselves we take our humanness away\u2026 judgment is the opposite of freedom; judgment limits who we are or will be.<\/p>\n
Have you ever noticed that the heart tends to close and harden in judgment when we perceive a weakness in someone that subtly reflects fears of our own weaknesses? Regarding this sort of projection someone wise once said: \u201cIt\u2019s all done with mirrors, you know.\u201d Perhaps this accounts for Jesus\u2019 comment: \u201cOnly in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.\u201d There they couldn\u2019t forgive his humanness\u2026 and hence could not see his divinity. Because we cannot forgive we become blind to the truth that we are created in God\u2019s image.<\/p>\n
We distance ourselves from God every time the harsh inner critic intones: \u201cI am not good
\nenough.\u201d In Matthew, 18:18, Jesus instructs his disciples: \u201cVerily I say unto you, what things so ever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.\u201d (King James) The New Standard Easy-to-Read Version: \u201cI tell you the truth. When you speak judgment here on earth, that judgment will be God’s judgment. When you promise forgiveness here on earth, that forgiveness will be God’s forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
We forgive because forgiveness makes us resilient and makes us available to God\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From our Pastor, Daphne Clement True forgiveness opens the heart making us tender and available to God. Without practicing forgiveness, we loose the capacity to give and to receive. If we really want to love, we must learn how to … Continue reading