Saturday, September 13, 2014

How can I forgive when it hurts so much... when it angers me so?


Scripture: Exodus 14:19-31 and Psalm 114 or Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21  • Genesis 50:15-21 and Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13  • Romans 14:1-12  • Matthew 18:21-35

Peter asks Jesus how many times must he forgive his brother who sins (misses the mark in Greek) against him. Jesus answers seventy times. Apart from the number, what does that mean? What if someone you trust betrays you, makes a mockery of you? Hurts you, or a family member or friend? Just won't give up that stubborn pride or position?

The apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans asks us "Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? We will all sit before the judgment seat of God?

How do we recover and overcome our mistakes when we have judged others, and there has been a broken relationship? Consider Professor Alyce MacKenzie's "You Be the Judge (not!), particularly the story about five monks and the Rabbi, and Dan Clendenin's "Accept One Another: The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant."



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