"If we only got into the Christ-faith through the door of forgiveness, how can we claim Christ as our home if we aren’t people who forgive?"

Ann Voskamp writes,

Who hasn’t argued hard, been misunderstood, wounded, hurt, who hasn’t been cheated on, talked down, lied about, pierced right through and left heart-broken on some beaten-down back road?

There are a thousand ways to bleed, to nurse wounds and bitterness, and no one knows, a thousand ways to feel like everything is breaking around you.

...How many years have I have stood in sanctuaries and murmured that one line of the Apostles Creed? “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” Have I really believed?

...If we only got into the Christ-faith through the door of forgiveness, how can we claim Christ as our home if we aren’t people who forgive?

Words and ideology on a page are cheap. Grace and incarnating the love of Christ isn’t.

Read more here.

"Not governed by self-restraint"

I see that the 2005 video of Trump bragging about what he does to women is getting attention on-line today. Ann Althouse:

You can't trust a person with power who doesn't have an internal moral core and who is not governed by self-restraint.

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The guy in the video who played along with Trump is named Billy Bush. Apparently he is on NBC's Today Show, and has been rumored to be the next host, after they get rid of Matt Lauer. He says he is embarrassed, but his employer forgives him because it was "11 years ago." No one will forgive Donald Trump though, you can take that to the bank.

Is it only our own sins that we ask forgiveness for?

At A Holy Experience Ann Voskamp asks,

...who hasn’t been cheated on, talked down, lied about, pierced right through and left heart-broken on some beaten-down back road?

I have bowed and said it aloud for decades.“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Who lives this?

If we only got into the Christ-faith through the door of forgiveness, how can we claim Christ as our home if we aren’t people who forgive?

Words and ideology on a page are cheap. Grace and incarnating the love of Christ isn’t.

If forgiveness isn’t central to our faith, is our faith really Christian?

Does “love your enemies” have any loop holes? How far can forgiveness go?

Read more here.

"Judge, can I pay his fee?"

h/t Ann Voskamp

What are the costs of forgiving? What are the costs of not forgiving?

Leslie Leyland Fields writes,

...I found the yoke of forgiveness, then, lighter than the yoke of hurt and hate. I found the yoke of caring for him easier than the burden of abandoning him.

And love came back. Yes, in small doses. He called me “amazing,” one day. He phoned on my birthday. When I came to visit, he didn’t want me to leave. All of this was new. All of this broke my new-found heart.

Forgiving my father has changed me. The broken and bitter parts of me are healing.

One forgiveness has led to others and to my own apologies from those I know I have hurt. I am moving toward the person I hope to be.

My father was touched as well. In the last two years of his life, my “worthless” father was surrounded and blessed by the very ones he had harmed.

I believe he felt loved, perhaps for the first time. We cannot heal all the broken families of the world, but we can begin here: with ourselves and our own families. With God’s forgiveness and love, anything is possible.

Read more here.

Repentance and forgiveness

Walter Russell Mead writes at the American Interest about repentance and forgiveness. As an example of repentance, he cites the life of

Adriaan Vlok, who was involved in overseeing South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime and now lives a life of charity and penance after repenting from his actions.

Mead links to an article in the African paper Mail and Guardian about Vlok, a born-again Christian, who is pictured in the photo below delivering food to poor black families in South Africa.



Mead also links to a story in the Washington Post about a woman who, after years of struggle, forgave the man who killed her husband in a robbery.

As Mead writes,

In the true history of the world, stories like these matter infinitely more than most of the empty pursuit of power, reputation, and wealth that the media normally follows. These events should open us to possibilities: All human beings share something with Vlok and with his victims. At one and the same time, we have participated in injustice and cruelty. We have injured others by trampling on their sacred dignity and humanity…and we’ve also been the victims of the injustice, unfairness, and cruelty of others.

So what should, what can, we do? We need to repent like Vlok, which is more than just saying “I’m sorry.” It is about trying to repair and atone, even when that’s impossible in full and even when others don’t accept our sincerity. It’s part of repairing the damage you’ve done to yourself as much as the damage you have done to others, and it’s part of the healing process. But at the same time that we have to repent, we must also forgive. The two are related. We’ve all been sinned against; we’ve all sinned against others. It’s a recognition of shared humanity that causes us to seek forgiveness—and that also enables us, at least a little, to begin to forgive.

Repenting and forgiving are difficult and painful—and necessary to a fully lived human life.

Read more here.

He cares

Would you be able to do this? A woman in San Diego whose son was killed by a gang member showed up at the young murderer's sentencing, announced that she had forgiven him, asked him to give his life to Jesus Christ, and sang him a gospel hymn entitled "He Cares." Go here to read more and hear her sing.

Thanks to Ann Voskamp

Angelina Jolie comments about overcoming obstacles and the message of forgiveness in her film Unbroken

Louis Zamperini's faith

Louis Zamperini's son Luke writes about the movie Unbroken, which Angelina Jolie played for 97-year-old Louis on her laptop in his hospital bed as he lay dying last summer. Luke says that Louis loved the movie and loved the way it handled his faith and conversion. Read Luke's movie review here.

Thanks to Scott Ott

Christians who wound Christians

Billy Graham's daughter talks about cruelty. People who get hurt by Christians! Jesus understands. They crucified Him! Who is the church? People who have personal relationships with God. Can we see our own sins? Do we have spiritual Macular Degeneration? Can we forgive? Can we reach out with forgiveness and do something for the person who wounds us? We need to extend that grace to other people.

Forgiveness

A dad took the time to do the right thing, and encourage his son to remember and do the same.

Thanks to Ann Voskamp

Ending hate, giving love

Lesley Leyland Fields writes here about forgiving her father.

She had learned that to love is to live

You will not watch a better video this year than this one.

Claire Davis is the girl shot point blank in the face by Karl Pierson at Arapahoe High School.

A memorial service was held yesterday for her. This is some of what her wise and loving father had to say:

Claire was full of life and love. She loved to laugh. She laughed with her entire being. She made other people laugh freely and without reserve. She had learned that to love is to live.

She learned that to receive she had to give. Her influence and light is ours to keep, and we will not let death take this from us.

Karl allowed himself to become filled with anger and rage and hatred. Claire tried to shine a light on Karl's darkness. My wife and I forgive Karl Pierson for what he did. Karl is no longer with us, so it is no longer our responsibility to pass judgment.

The last thing that Desiree and I would want is to perpetuate this anger and range and hatred in connection with Claire. Claire would also not want this.

Death has an attitude that all is lost; yet the truth is otherwise. The essence of true forgiveness is to repeatedly choose to love, consciously. To make love more important than hate, despair, or fear. By expressing love, compassion and forgiveness in our daily lives, we will honor Claire and keep our hearts focused there.

Perhaps as a community we can consciously choose to raise the bar of our individual standards, and create a positive and empowering meaning to this and all of our experiences. This is our heartfelt commitment.