Moving Mountains

Three Words

I. forgive. you.

Three words that are so uncommon in our world today. I know it, and you probably do as well. See the other three words that are used, are tossed around.

I love you 

I hate you

I hate myself

I love myself

I love _____

I hate _____

Do we ever actually use I FORGIVE in our everyday lives? Do you guys know of anyone who has held a grudge against another person for a very very long time? Or have you been guilty of holding onto something for a bit too long? Yes, so have I. I look around, and I see so much hate going on. Towards people, towards religion, towards ourselves, towards friends and family, towards God.

People often say "What they did was unforgivable." Or people say "I don't deserve forgiveness." Now there may be some other phrases that go along with that, but let's just focus on those two.

Here is a saying that wipes both of those phrases out of the water.

"LOVE. covers a multitude of sin." When you look at something like this, you may roll your eyes and think 'Yeah, big deal, you say it, but you don't know what I've done'

Ok, true, but God knows what you've done. Everything thing you've ever done and ever will do God knows, and he has your road planned out for those choices. I'm not going to lie, the roads get rough. However, isn't it great to know that God looked at your mistakes and said "I don't care, I love you and I forgive you." I mean guys he died for us! And if that isn't love I don't know what is!? 

Also that forgiveness is a form of grace...you don't deserve it but you receive it and it shocks you that someone would pardon your mistake or your words that were so harsh. It's a beautiful thing. I've received grace and forgiveness multiple times that I didn't deserve them. 

God is Love, so in the saying above I always add. "God is love, love covers a multitude of sin." So needless to say it doesn't matter the past. Christ is always open to hear you and to accept you as you are. As I stated in previous chapters. "the church is for the weak not the strong"

Does that mean you should stop attending church if you consider yourself strong? NO! Because you can never be strong enough in your faith. Now, how does forgiveness tie in with all of this? Well, the only way to accept others and yourself in my opinion is to forgive yourself and or others.

We hold grudges based off of things that happen, but don't you think a month or ten years is long enough? Obviously you can't change what happened no matter how bad you would like to, but you can't. So it's only right to move forward and try to be happy where you are not try to look back and change where you were.

I enjoy facts, but rarely do I have all the facts, but guys it's only common sense to realize that the past is the past and the only way to truly be happy with yourself and move forward is to let go. LET IT GO LET IT- NO! *huffs* Ok there went my singing career! *smiles*

No, but in all seriousness the only way to truly be able to love someone is to look past the flaws and forgive them. It's also how you love yourself, you have to be happy with yourself. I don't know where you are in life, but as you go about life try not to hold grudges. Remember that you hurt people as well and you would want to be forgiven. An old saying says to pull out the log in your eye before pointing out the speck in another.

So remember that we all want to change things in our lives, and that to hold something against someone isn't representing our faith very well. I don't know really. In scripture it says

 "Don't let the sun go down in your anger" So it's pretty much saying to mend conflict before you go to sleep, so you can sleep I guess, better. Better knowing that you did the right thing by forgiving that person.

Also remember that we don't have the right to say someone doesn't deserve forgiveness if they change there ways. Christ accepted us as sinners and all sin is equal.

A song that you should give a listen to is FORGIVENESS by Tobymac. It's wonderful!

Much love HAPPY NEW YEAR!