Forgive?

Pastor Chad's messages this week have touched many nerves on a lot of people...will you forgive that person when they show up at your door asking for it? And tonight at Round 2 he got deeper -- what if they never ask for your forgiveness? What are you going to do then? The short answer is to still forgive them.


Chad gave the examples of Stephen when he was being stoned and Jesus on the cross...forgive them (they don't know what they're doing). Chad also gave the modern-day example of the couple whose son was killed by a drunk driver, Tom. They forgave Tom - and eventually adopted him as their own son. Incredible.


For me, this is one of the top areas I have worked on in my life. I realized long ago with a father who didn't want me, a mom who called me a mistake and "shouldn't have been" when I was a child, other family members who had only a negative view of me when they wouldn't even have anything to do with me, and later in life with men who didn't know how to truly love, my ex-husband's abuse, horrible job situations with horrible people, friends who turned out not to be real friends -- I realized -- it's my choice on how to think about them...how to forgive them for my own peace of mind. And for those of you that know me know there's enough going on up there I don't need to hang on to unforgiveness and bitterness! So I chose and choose to forgive. And for some, I still forgive on a regular basis. Forgiveness is never EASY - just NECESSARY. It's part of the "loving your neighbor" process.