Forgiveness

Have you ever wandered if there is a limit to forgiveness? Some of us may have that one person who just doesn’t “get it” and continually walks all over our good graces. Do we continue to accept an apology? Is there a point of no return for anyone? We know the story about Peter asking Jesus about how many times he should forgive his brother…”up to seven times?” On Peter’s part this was very generous, but Jesus’ answer “not seven times, but seventy-seven times” points out Peter’s misunderstanding of the topic. In God’s economy forgiveness has no limits.

But how does forgiveness apply to those cases in which a terrible offense or injustice has occurred? Is forgiveness even fair? Take for example the Holocaust. Wow…where do you start with this one? Can true forgiveness occur? In the book “The Sunflower” by Simon Wiesenthal a dying SS soldier has Wiesenthal brought into his hospital room so that he could confess his offenses against the Jews to this lowly Jewish prisoner. Wiesenthal, questioning whether or not he could forgive someone on another person’s behalf, did not know how to respond and simply walked out of the room. This SS soldier died without forgiveness. Can you blame Wiesenthal? What would you have done? I encourage you to get a copy of this book and wrestle through this very, very important issue.

Another book that I want to recommend that deals with forgiving a terrible offense is called “Forgiving the Dead Man Walking.” In it Debbie Morris tells of an event in her life when she and her boyfriend were kidnapped by two men. Debbie was raped and her boyfriend beat up and shot (not killed). Eventually the men released her and she tells her story of the process of forgiving these “unforgivable” men. Please read this book and allow the power of Debbie’s story to teach you about the power of forgiveness.

I leave you with these two thoughts on forgiveness. (1) The Bible points out that our being forgiven by God is, in part, connected to the measure by which we forgive others. “For when you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Mt. 6:14). (2) “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). We have done nothing to deserve God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. No matter how many times we fail or how grievous our offense, Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is sufficient to cleanse us completely of our sin.

May God bless us in our journey to understand and apply forgiveness.

Friday Can Be A Bummer…

Okay, so I’ve not written a blog since April of last year.  I’ll admit that blogging hasn’t been a priority.  I actually had to hunt down my username and password just to get into my account today to write this.  It’s not a New Year’s Resolution or anything, but I will attempt to put some thoughts down more consistently this year.  I don’t plan on plummeting the depths of spiritual truth in every blog or writing anything profound…I plan to just share a bit of my life with you (assuming that you may be interested).

The reason why my blog title is what it is comes from the blessing of Brooke’s job.  She works at Andover Bank in Geneva and since she is the “low woman on the totem pole” she has the honor of working each Friday until 7 pm.  I normally end my Friday at 5 or 5:30 pm and the one and a half to two hours until she gets home can be a bummer.  Here’s a little fact about me, I like to have Brooke home when I get home; she’s my friend and pretty fun to hang out with!

So, I’m about ready to leave the office and, as usual, Brooke works till 7 pm.  What am I going to do to pass the time tonight?  I’m gonna clean the house.  I know, it sounds enthralling!  My in-laws are coming up from Dayton tonight and the house needs a good cleaning, so I’m sure Brooke will appreciate coming home to a clean house…that’s where I come in.

I will pass on one bit of information that may be helpful to you when facing the challenge of cleaning the house: turn the music up loud!  It passes the time quickly!  I recommend something upbeat; nothing like Barry Manilow.

That’s all for now.  Have a great weekend!  Stay Warm!!!

Worship Night

I just want to remind everyone that this Friday, April 18th is our Worship Night.  The evening gets kicked off at 7 pm at the Jefferson Elementary School.  This will be a laid back evening of singing, scriptures, and sharing.  There will be a variety of new and familiar songs that are a part of the service.  I’m also excited to have Mike Adame as part of the evening!  He’s been working on musically retooling some traditional hymns, that I’m sure we’ll all enjoy.  Refreshments will be available throughout the service.  There is no child care, but don’t hesitate to bring your children…they will have a great time with us!

Hope to see you Friday!!!

Get Your Engines Started…

Getting things up and running!  Get ready for the adventure!