Day 26, Thursday, Book of Faith – Lenten Journey
We do not relish being in debt, but it is a constant companion. We are in debt to God and we are in debt to one another. St. Paul may have said, “Owe no one anything,” but we up to our eyeballs in debt because our reluctance to be the love of God everyday, everywhere.
How wonderful that God initiates the forgiveness that makes it possible for us to get out of debt with God. And because God wipes the slate clean when it comes to our indebtedness with God we are empowered to forgive others. We are empowered in at least two ways. One is that we are freed from constantly worrying about our relationship with God, thus enabling us to focus on our relationship with others. The second is that the forgiveness we receive from God teaches us how to forgive others. I like the last sentence in the meditation: “God, you keep on forgiving us and we’ll keep on forgiving others because that’s the only thing that makes sense in a broken world.”
One last thought for me today as I’m doing Wednesday and Thursday’s Bible study today.
That thought is, how freeing it is for us; to know that God forgives us. In my heart of hearts I think God forgives us more easily than we sometimes forgive even ourselves.
And alternatively, how wonderful a gift God has given us – the very act of being able to forgive others. If we choose to not forgive, the bittnessness we harbor as we remember the offense eats at us and causes distress in our lives and perhaps even in our health. We simply need to forgive. It may not be easy but God paves the way.