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| Return of the Prodigal Son 1 by Ain Vares |
Forgiveness.
It is not an intuitive concept, is it?
There is something pulsing in our animal-blood that beats out revenge.
Little people don't come into the world thinking you. They come in thinking me. We all start from a place of selfishness.
It's a fight to submit ourselves to God, to submit to love. Not mushy-gushy romance-novel love. No... real love, love that chooses the best for the other, love that does not seek its own.
Love is patient,
love is kind and is not jealous;
love does not brag and is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly;
it does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never fails...
~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ~
We struggle to tame our flesh to love. To put each other first.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves
~ Philippians 2:3 ~
And we miss the mark. Time and again. So we turn to each other and to Him for forgiveness.
And every time He says Yes!
Do you receive it?
Have you ever felt that you were so wrong, or your sin was so chronic, that you just couldn't believe that it is true that:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
~ 1 John 1:9 ~
But He does forgive us if we confess. Faithfully and righteously.
Why?
Because He wants to.
"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins."
~ Isaiah 43:25 ~
For His own sake.
He wants to forgive you, not just for your benefit, but for His own sake.
Receive the freely offered gift.
Amen! Great post! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Patti. As hard as it is to forgive others, it is often even harder to forgive ourselves. I had never considered the scripture that says He forgives us for His own sake. That is powerful.
ReplyDeleteHi Patti. Great post and so simply put. Sandy's comment above is also profound.
ReplyDeleteGod bless
Tracy
Beautiful. I have been struggling this week and have had a pretty bad attitude. I very much need to rest in His forgiveness today. I'm so glad I read this and will be thinking about it today.
ReplyDeleteTrisha, His forgiveness, because of Jesus' death for us, is such a profound and life-altering reality. I am so glad you were reminded of your need to rest in it. I have to remember also... it is so easy to forget! I just said a prayer for you.
ReplyDelete