We talk glibly about forgiving when we have never been injured; when we are injured we know that it is not possible, apart from God's grace, for one human being to forgive another. Oswald Chambers
It's easy to say to someone, "You just need to forgive" when their situation doesn't affect you personally or you can't relate to it. But then. But then when it happens to you all of a sudden it's not so easy to say, "I forgive" or to hear someone tell you "You just need to forgive." And perhaps all of a sudden you realize that every time you have said it before in a glib manner it probably sounded insincere and without compassion. As Chambers points out in today's quote it is easy to tell others to forgive when we haven't been been injured. And then it happens to us. Because the reality is that it isn't an "if" it's a "when". We will all be injured in some way in our life that will require forgiveness and in the process of it we will learn how to have grace from that moment on with others we run into in life who are struggling with forgiveness. We will learn to be sincere and to not speak glibly, even when we can't relate to the situation personally. We will understand that we need God's grace when it comes to forgiveness, for ourselves and for others. We will learn to extend God's grace to people who are trying to forgive. We will learn to not speak so glibly. But why wait until you are confronted with the need to forgive? Start now. Don't be so glib.
It's easy to say to someone, "You just need to forgive" when their situation doesn't affect you personally or you can't relate to it. But then. But then when it happens to you all of a sudden it's not so easy to say, "I forgive" or to hear someone tell you "You just need to forgive." And perhaps all of a sudden you realize that every time you have said it before in a glib manner it probably sounded insincere and without compassion. As Chambers points out in today's quote it is easy to tell others to forgive when we haven't been been injured. And then it happens to us. Because the reality is that it isn't an "if" it's a "when". We will all be injured in some way in our life that will require forgiveness and in the process of it we will learn how to have grace from that moment on with others we run into in life who are struggling with forgiveness. We will learn to be sincere and to not speak glibly, even when we can't relate to the situation personally. We will understand that we need God's grace when it comes to forgiveness, for ourselves and for others. We will learn to extend God's grace to people who are trying to forgive. We will learn to not speak so glibly. But why wait until you are confronted with the need to forgive? Start now. Don't be so glib.
Comments
Post a Comment