Responsibility & Forgiveness

I had an unusual thing happen today.  A woman came to me and asked me to forgive her because she had had some not so nice thoughts about me in the past. She told me that when she first met me she thought I was cold and uncaring, but had since came to know that that was not the case...

I was baffled...I did not know that she thought that about me.  She could have gone on and never told me.  But she was compelled to ask my forgiveness.

In the course of a day I hear a lot of stories.  I ask a lot of questions.  I might ask, "Why were you incarcerated? " Typically I get answers ranging from, "the judge said I did not pay my child support" to "well...some how the cops got called..."  Rarely, if ever is my questioned answered with, "I did wrong."  The story always includes what everyone else has done. We take much effort to explain and deflect our sin.  And since we do not even admit when we are wrong, how is it that we would ever seek forgiveness?

We seldom go to each other to ask forgiveness even for blatant acts done against each other.  What if we were so mindful of our thoughts and actions that we even asked forgiveness for the "unknown" sins?  Oh the healing that might take place, and the strength we would regain in the Church if we took our sin seriously...

While I did not know the bad thoughts the woman had about me, I got the drift that I was not her favorite person.  But now I know more about her, I know that she is my sister in Christ.  With out that exchange of forgiveness we would have both went on with our lives and probably forgotten each others names.  But now I believe that the body of Christ as a whole is a little bit stronger, and when our paths cross again we will fellowship in a way that we would not have otherwise. 


Pondering....

Dangerous

Okay...I have been wondering this for awhile...

If you are driving toward a cliff and you do not know it, but I do, and I do not warn you, what kind of person does that make me? Should I just continue to drive to safety and just hope that you will follow my example and avoid the danger?  Or..should I do everything possible, including waving my arms around like a stark raving lunatic to get you attention, or even go as far as putting myself between you and the danger in attempt to stop you?

Would it be considered rude of me to interfere in your travels?  You are an adult after all, you don't need me "judging" your driving.  And how is it that I know you are driving toward a cliff?  Maybe I have been down that road before...  And it could even be that you are well aware that the cliff is near, but you insist on having your way as you think you can flirt with not going over the edge. 


Sin is serious.  We laugh it off.  We excuse it.  We certainly do not want anyone "judging" us. When we laugh along with the world as sin is celebrated, what does that say about the church?  The Body of Christ? 

Are we allowing people to drive head long off a cliff because we do not want to offend anyone?  Do we not care enough to warn them of the danger? We are told it is unloving, but I feel the opposite is true.  I have heard some one say recently that we are "loving people to death", meaning we smile and say all is well to the point of holding someone's hand all the way to hell, meanwhile never telling them the truth about sin, repentance, and forgiveness. 

I also hear things like "Only God can judge me" and that is right friend..and He will.  With out the blood of Jesus covering you when He does, you will be found in serious lack.  I cringe when I hear some one who does not have a relationship with Jesus utter those words with an arrogant heart. 

I have had the uncomfortable experience of going to friends when they are heading toward the cliff, it is not fun, but I loved them too much not to.  I did not do it because I thought I was better than them.  I did not do it because I am without sin.  I did it because I feared for what their future might hold if they did not stop running full speed toward the cliff.

Who in your life do you love enough to warn?  Do it today...because that road might seem long, but the cliff is not going away..

Pondering....

Let's be honest...

School was wisely canceled today.  Roads were the worst they have been in years.  They were bad enough my work was also canceled.  When I found out I would also have a snow day, I was thankful I would not have to scrape the multiple inches of ice and snow off my car...my next thought was..oh no...stuck in the house..all day...with bickering kids....

I love seeing all the cute pics of families enjoying their day playing in the snow on face book.  By the time I am relaxing and enjoying the pics, my family has all went to their separate corners as they have tired of fighting with each other, and I am left wondering, why can we not enjoy a day off together? 

I say all of that to say this...face book is the "high light reel" of our lives.  I love to post my kid's shining moments, or something yummy I made.  It's where the best of the best goes, leaving the impression that all is well in our happy little lives.  Now I do not necessarily suggest airing everything on face book, but every now and then a pic of your undone dishes would be great...a little balanced reality....

We talk about putting on a mask, and people who do not know us feel like they have nothing in common with us because their lives are a mess.  Little do they know that lurking just beneath that mask and threatening to boil over at any second is PLENTY mess of our own. 

This is especially important for Christians to understand.  The lost world is hurting.  If we never stop long enough to share our pain with someone who is hurting in a similar way, then what was the purpose of what we went through?  I have heard lost people say "It's nice to be you..you have no idea.." and they believe that.  They do not know what we may have been through because all they see is the smile on our face and the pretty pics on face book. 

So lets try to show the world who we are, imperfect but trying our best, flawed but forgiven....

Pondering...