Skip to main content

Forgive ...

  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart[1]. (I Peter 1:22)

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:39)

I’m writing this at lunchtime. Blogs are supposed to be written before 9 am, but I spent most of the morning removing the last of the boxes from the truck, mowing the lawn, and pulling weeds. I set up my little roadside sitting area, except for the signs. And I discovered that my four pots of succulents and two poinsettias survived. So did 2 thymes, parsley, rosemary, lantana, a mint, and maybe a Greek oregano. I watered them all. They’re going to need some TLC, but my little garden may come back.

But, I discovered a wasp’s nest less than 3 feet from my front door, in the area where Grace spends time. I had to go get some wasp spray, and while I was at the store, I found myself rehearsing the same old song. “I’m not getting anything done, I’m such a failure, woe is me!” Modulate up a half step and repeat until you reach your highest pitch, then reverse and work your way to your lowest.

As I left the store, I found myself thinking about forgiveness, and specifically about forgiving myself. When I got home, I checked my online, searchable Bible, and confirmed what I’d been pretty sure I’d find. There is nothing in Scripture that talks about forgiving yourself. You are to forgive everyone, and you are to seek forgiveness from anyone you have wronged. Is it assumed that none of us need direction in terms of forgiving ourselves? Is it obvious to us?

Some people are willing to forgive themselves for anything and everything. They absolve themselves without a second thought. Others find fault for failures even if they are things out of their control. I seem to be in the second group at the moment, kicking myself for 90% of the decisions I remember making in my life, and 100% of the decisions in the last month.

I’m also kicking myself for not getting things done as quickly as I’d like. I’ve been here for nearly 48 hours and while the truck is empty, Grace Cottage is a cluttered mess but, are those things sins? Do I need to forgive myself? Or do I only need to set reasonable goals? If they are sins, are they not the sins of not trusting God to lead me? If so, then do I need to forgive myself, or do I need to seek His forgiveness? Is this the lesson I’m to learn this winter? We shall see.


[1]         Some early manuscripts end this passage with “from a pure heart.”

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more