Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
While I was driving in the car today, I was listening to KLove as they talked about a pretty touchy subject. Ironically, half way across the country, my best friend was listening to the same station and the same message as I was. When I talked to my best friend today, before writing this entry, she recommended that I write a post about the message that we both heard earlier today: the message of forgiveness.
The funny thing about forgiveness is that we desperately want it when we mess up and make mistakes. On the flip side, if we are being negatively impacted by other peoples' mistakes, we don't want to think about forgiveness. Why is it that we expect God to forgive us when we can't even forgive our brother? Shouldn't we treat others the way we want to be treated? The only answer I can come up with is that it is hard to forgive others.
For those who think like I think, you may not be able to come up with anyone whom you haven't already forgiven. To these people, I'd like to bring up a name. What comes to your mind when you hear the name "James Holmes?" This man is currently on trial for killing 12 and wounding 58 in a shooting rampage in a movie theater last Friday in Aurora, Colorado. Do we forgive this man?
This is where the topic gets touchy. He did something really wrong and now he's facing consequences for it. That's fine; that's why America has a judicial system. Forgiving people like him doesn't mean taking away the natural consequences of their actions. The definition of forgiveness, however, is to stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake, and this is something that we are called to do whether we feel like they deserve it or not.
The song "Losing" by Tenth Avenue North (which can be found on the music page of this blog) addresses why we must stop resenting others for what they do to us by saying, "Why do we think that hate's gonna change their heart? We're up in arms over wars that don't need to be fought, but pride won't let us lay our weapons on the ground. We build our bridges up, but just to burn them down. We think pain is owed apologies and then it'll stop, but truth be told it doesn't matter if they're sorry or not. Freedom comes when we surrender to the sound of mercy and [God's] grace."
Although it's not fair that we have to forgive people who hurt us, especially when they don't even acknowledge the wrong that they did with an apology, it's also not fair that Jesus, who was completely without sin, was murdered upon a cross because of the mistakes that everyone else was making. That's the beauty of grace, though; God forgave us and showed us compassion when we least deserved it. Now He commands us to do the same with each other.
Therefore, take time to genuinely forgive the unforgivable, as God forgives the unforgivable in you.
3 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance
My senior year in high school saw more tragedies than a school year should see. When the second student from my high school passed away that year, I was upset and angry and ended up asking myself the same question that so many people ask: "How could God let this happen?"
This question has been asked in many various ways and answered accordingly by many different people, but I think it's my turn to tackle the question. I would like to begin by pointing out that most people who ask this question, in my opinion, aren't actually looking for an answer. In fact, we often reject any answers that are given to us because we don't actually want to hear it. We just want to express our unhappiness with life, and questioning God's behavior seems like a natural way to do it. If God is good, then why is he letting bad in the world? Why is the world so broken? I hope I don't get too much negative feedback for saying this, but this reaction we sometimes have, I believe, is completely okay.
I challenge anyone who disagrees with me to go read the book of Job, or maybe just Psalm 22. In this psalm, David cries, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" This is coming from someone that God considers "a man after His own heart!" When Jesus himself was fulfilling the prophesy of Psalm 22, he quoted this same question as he dangled from the cross. Neither David nor Jesus were actually forsaken, which is made evident by the end of Psalm 22 and by Jesus' constant remarks that he is not alone (John 16:32), so why then would they ask God such a question? They're hurting. They're upset. It is their time to weep, and by golly, they are allowed to weep.
Nonetheless, there comes a time when the weeping must end, and we have to pick ourselves up from the ground. Then and only then can we begin to figure out why God lets bad things happen to us. Then and only then can we realize that our trials really can shape us. They can give us a strong bond with others with similar experiences, and more importantly, they can bring us closer to God.
Yet again, C.S. Lewis had something to say about this: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts
in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” When we are hurting, God is RIGHT THERE with you, speaking to you, wanting to comfort you. Psalm 34:18 states, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in
spirit."
I don't believe that God wants us to hurt. He doesn't want us to have to experience the pains and sufferings of the world. When Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, opening a door for sorrows and struggles, I believe that God's heart broke. Even still, isn't it incredible that He gives us the opportunity to use these struggles for good? That even our hardships have a purpose?
If you'd like to dig deeper with this topic, I recommend watching the following video by the oh so controversial Rob Bell; it really does have a powerful message. Also, if there is a hurt in your life that you'd like prayer for, please visit the "Prayer Requests" page on this blog; I promise you will be in my prayers.
Therefore, weep when it is time to weep and mourn when it is time to mourn, but know that whatever time or season it may be, God is with you.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
The other day, I was spending way too much time on a little website called Pinterest (my guilty pleasure), and I stumbled upon a picture. The picture was of a real Starbucks coffee cup with a quote on the side. Below is a picture of this coffee cup.
This little cup got me thinking. Why is it that so many people wonder if their life has any purpose? Isn't it obvious? The simple fact that we are able to ponder that question tells us that, yes, our life indeed has meaning.
C.S. Lewis once said, "If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning."
I believe this same logic can apply to our lives. If our lives had no meaning, we wouldn't ever be sad about it; in fact, it probably would never even occur to us. For in order to understand a lack of something, there needs to be a something to compare it to. We understand dark because it is the absence of light. We can feel cold because we've felt warmth. If the whole world was always cold, you might know what it feels like to have blue lips and chattering teeth, but you wouldn't be able to call it "cold" because you wouldn't know anything different. It's just "normal." Thus, if people didn't have a distinct purpose, they wouldn't think or converse about it. It would just be fact.
In the words of Got Right Ministries, "The purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We glorify God
by fearing and obeying Him, keeping our eyes on our future home in heaven, and
knowing Him intimately. We enjoy God by following His purpose for our lives,
which enables us to experience true and lasting joy—the abundant life that He
desires for us"
Therefore, live your life with the confidence that God has a plan and purpose for you, with the knowledge that these plans are to give you hope and a future, and with the discipline to live out these plans.
12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
This verse is written by Paul to his loyal friend Timothy. Timothy converted during one of Paul's missionary journeys and later headed a church at Paul's request. The strange thing about this verse is that Paul isn't counseling Timothy to be forceful and argumentative in his leadership, but to bring order to the church by being the example they are so desperately needing. Timothy, being fairly young for such tasks, is being told not to let that get in the way of his ministry.
Although Timothy's biggest obsticle was getting other believers to take him seriously given his youthful age, we might struggle with obsticles of our own. Whether it be age, gender, fear, reputation, or any number of circumstances, we are also to remain strong in the Lord and set a good example for others, whether they are believers or not.
When Christians strive to live their lives in a way that would please God, it can be a powerful thing. Eighty-five percent of Christians come to Christ gradually and relationally. Translation: if you maintain steady friendships with people while living a righteous life, God can use you to bring others to Him. People should be able to look at your life and think, "What is it about that person that makes him/her so different?" And yes, when the world is filled with prostitutes and drunkards and hypocrites and gossips, being "different" is a good thing.
On the flipside, if Christians aren't friendly, kind, or compassionate, how can people be expected to want that for their lives? William J. Toms once said, "Be careful how you live; you will be the only Bible some people ever read." Many people are not at all interested in picking up a Bible and seeing what Christianity is all about; the only way they'll know is if you show them through your actions.
The following video is a popular "spoken word" poem that may help show how important our actual actions are.
“The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians--when they are sombre and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths." -Sheldon Vanauken
Therefore, behave like a person you would be proud to know, and leave others whispering to themselves, "Wow. How can I have what that person has?"
