A healthy portion of love and forgiveness

God specializes in doing things for us that we cannot do for ourselves. If you have built a relationship with God through faith in Christ Jesus, then you know that feeling of helplessness and the devastation when you feel the brunt of your undone condition. Since Christ was resurrected from the dead, many have looked to him to fix their relationship with the father.

Today we have a unique opportunity to do something for someone else that they could not have done for themselves. I’m speaking beyond a tall person helping a short person reach something on a high shelf. Or a younger person running errands for a much older person. Or even a mother taking care of her child. Although these fit the basics of this thought, we should focus our attention on the weightier matters.

There are people who are in a position that makes it impossible for them to love themselves. They live with guilt and shame and don’t feel worthy. They need someone to love them. There are people who have wronged others and it is impossible for them to grant forgiveness for themselves. They need to be forgiven.

In a country where we take pride in things like revenge, winning and wealth, wouldn’t it be nice if at the end of each year it was mandatory that we would love or forgive? And wouldn’t it be cool if there were strict laws and people could actually go to jail for not loving or forgiving?

The Apostle John wrote: “beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.”

And Jesus himself said, … by this will all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another. And if you read Matt. 18:23-35, there is a shocking revelation by Jesus in regards to how the father feels about forgiveness. We only need to remember what he has done for us and reciprocate.