Prayer of Love

Years ago, there was an incident between my younger son and me when he had gotten in some trouble. He had to go to his room for a time out, and for what reason, I do not remember. What I do remember is when he came out, and we talked about what happened; he said he forgave me and wanted to know if I was going to ask him to forgive me or not. I almost laughed when he asked me this until I realized he was serious. I told him that I was sorry he had made a wrong choice and had to have a time out for it, but I would not ask him to forgive me. This did not sit well with him because he felt I was wrong in his mind (I think he was five at the time). We could not agree on this subject, so I just let it go. It was funny to me, and yet to him; I could see it was very serious.

In Luke 23:32-36, we see a story of what real forgiveness looks like. The story is that Jesus, along with two thieves, were making their way to be crucified. When it came time for Jesus to be crucified, He said as they were nailing Him to the cross, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." After they were done nailing Him to the cross, they took His clothes and divided them up amongst themselves. Some of the people watching were, as the Bible says, sneering at Jesus and saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His chosen one." The soldiers who were also there said, "If you are the king of Jews, save yourself!"

To really think about all this is taking place, and the words said to Jesus are too hard to understand. For Jesus to say a prayer that would involve forgiveness is also unbelievable. For us, we have such a hard time forgiving even the littlest of things that offend us, much less this. There are those people in our lives who keep on doing things that offend us, and we can have a hard time forgiving them. We continuously have to do so, yet this is a clear example of how we act when someone is hurting us. Jesus said this while they were nailing His hands and feet to the cross, and yet someone looks at us wrong and were mad and unforgiving. To have people nailing you to a cross and then to say a prayer of forgiveness for them surely proves His great and deep love for us. He even went a step further and said, "That they don't know what they are doing." To read this story gives none of us an excuse for any reason not to forgive, wouldn't you agree?

The Bible says offenses will come, but we are to forgive because if we do not, neither will He forgive us. That we are to follow Christ's example, which includes forgiving others, and by forgiving others, we are doing not only what He commands but also what He did. By doing that, we are truly living as a Christ-follower, and for each of us, that should be the goal.

It's not easy when people hurt us, and it is even more challenging when they continue to hurt us. Our forgiveness does not condone their actions; it's just that we are letting go and letting God be the one to handle it. In that moment of forgiving, we are not allowing ourselves to be full of bitterness, rage, and anger, which only results in the hardness of heart in us, and then, in turn, draws us out of God's perfect plan for us and our lives. Once we can forgive, He gives us the peace, strength, and comfort we need and helps us with the emotions that go along with forgiveness.

So, while we live on this earth, know that offenses will come, and God forewarns us of that. He also though promises us He is all we need for everything that we will go through. He promises anything He asks of us He has already done first. To be like Him includes forgiveness, and through Him, we can forgive because He is our strength, and through Him, we can do anything. Today, whatever past issue or even present issue, you need to forgive, do it and do it right away. Out of your love and desire to be like Christ and following in His example, pray that prayer of forgiveness and let Him handle the rest.

From Gardens of Splendor by Gina Burns