Returning To The Vomit
There is this verse that I don’t like in the Bible. Romans 12:19, “Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. I’ll do the judging, says God. I’ll take care of it.” But God it is easier for me to take care of it and I do believe it is more fun. Luke chapter 6 tells us, “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” Forgiveness on the surface appears to be very easy but at the root it is very difficult. I am currently on this journey with God where I am forgiving those who have hurt, betrayed or even destroyed my reputation even if they greet that forgiveness with smugness and skepticism. Here are a few things I am learning.
- I don’t know if the forgiveness is as much for them as it is for me. I am truly setting myself free.
- Forgiveness is painful because it requires you to face your past and your past choices.
- In many cases they may not even believe they did something wrong but that’s not the point.
- Forgiveness requires that we are happy for them not in their failures but in their success.
- Forgiveness may mean that you walk away still feeling it is unresolved from their end.
- Forgiveness gives us hope.
- We forgive not because it feels good or right but because Christ forgave us.
- We are all like children when it comes to forgiveness and non of us have it figured out.
I’m on this journey and at times it is uncomfortable but I know it is completely necessary. All I can do is release them it is up to them to offer the forgiveness or accept the forgiveness. The reality is that our past shapes who we are today but forgiveness will shape who we are tomorrow.
Backside Deserts
Winston Churchill once said, “Almost every leader goes through a time of the ‘backside of the desert’ before becoming what they were made for.” I love that quote because it’s a quote of hope and there is almost a promise in there. But that really depends on your perspective. You can easily read that and only focus on the ‘backside of the desert’ part of it. You can focus on the curve balls that life has thrown you. The empty promises, damaged relationships and obstacles that seem to impede your process. Or you can focus on the ‘becoming what they were made for’ part of it. You can focus on what God is doing through you and in you when you are feeling like nothing in life is going the way you want or planned. Winston Churchill finished that quote by saying, “Sometimes this even happens after some initial, lesser success.” I read this and think for some of you life is good but it could be great. You have a good marriage, good relationship with your kids, a good job and a good life. There will come a time when you feel like it may all be falling apart but that could be right before you experience what you were made for on the other side of the ‘desert’ experience. Keep your head up and your eyes focused and stay persistent. God is not finished making you extraodinary.
