FOCUS:  Forgiving others.

THE POINT:  Why should you forgive?  Because you have been forgiven by God.

THE TRUTH:

Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.—Ephesians 4:32, The Message

Anna never really talked about her father.  When she was eleven years old, he left her mother and four brothers and sisters, without even so much as a goodbye.  She always envied her friends who were close to their dads, and scolded them when they would complain about how protective their fathers could be.  She knew that she would never have what they had: a father who loved her and was there for her when times were tough.

Every month the letter would come, always on a Wednesday, and always a page and a half long.  The mundane details may have been different, but the message of every letter was the same:  I made a terrible mistake!  Please forgive me.  I want to have you back in my life.  Anna hated reading the letters.   They would sit on her dresser for a few days and when she was tired of looking at them, she would throw them away, washing her hands of him once again.  She was hurt, bitter, and not ready to forgive.  Even if she wanted to forgive him, she didn’t know how.

She was in English class when it happened.  A knock at the door interrupted the class, and as the school counselor whispered something in the teacher’s ear, Anna felt an uneasy drift in her stomach; she somehow knew it was about her.  The teacher, her face awash in concerned tension, approached Anna.  “Anna, the counselor needs you to go with her.”  As she stood, Anna felt her knees tremble.  Was she in some kind of trouble?  In fact, Anna’s father had been killed in a tragic accident at work.  His last words were, “make sure Anna knows how much I love her and how sorry I am.”

Imagine the grief and regret that Anna could feel.  Maybe she thought her dad would be around for a long time, and she would have other chances to resolve her feelings of anger and forgive him.  Perhaps she was waiting for something to happen.  Maybe he wasn’t asking in the right way.  Whatever the problem, Anna’s opportunity to forgive her dad for his betrayal slipped away.  Often the reason we can’t forgive is because we focus on how we’ve been wronged instead of thinking about how much we have been forgiven for.  Every day we think and do things that violate God’s law and our own conscience, and every day God forgives us. The first step in forgiveness is remembering that God’s grace covers all your sins.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

In your mind, what does it mean to forgive someone?  How do you feel when you consider all that you have been forgiven for?

Can you think of someone that you need to forgive, but haven’t?  What do you think is holding you back?