Forgiveness: A Great Concept!

In Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 14, we are reminded that if we forgive people when they sin against us, Our Heavenly Father will also forgive us.

It is probably no coincidence that this passage follows The Lord’s Prayer. This is the one passage of the Bible that most people everywhere know. This is the prayer that is often called The Perfect Prayer. On 9-11, The Lord’s Prayer was probably the most prayed across the United States.

Now, the concept of forgiving is pretty easy, once you really grasp it.

If someone cuts you off on the highway, you can let that bother you all day. Or worse, you could retaliate and cause a horrible accident. Or, you could just forgive that driver and think about how badly their day must be going!

If an acquaintance says something mean to you, you can dwell on that, hold on to that and no longer have that person as a friend.

Friends are precious gifts and we need to hang on to as many as we possibly can. So, when someone says something that hurts us, we need to stop and think how bad that person might have been feeling. We should consider how bad their day was going that they just absolutely had to tell us that the dress we were wearing made us look fat!

How insecure is a person who telephones to tell you that they did not appreciate something you said at last week’s meeting?

More importantly, how secure are you that you can just let it go and move on with the rest of the day?

The really beautiful thing about forgiving people is that it starts to make them wonder what it is about you that lets you forget what they said or did? It gives them new found respect for you.

Because our lives are hectic, perhaps there are more things that are said carelessly and therefore, more opportunities to forgive.

Once you start conscientiously forgiving people’s thoughtless comments and actions, you cannot believe how much nicer your life will be!

Just ask “Buddy”, our Lhasa, “Ginger”, the Poodle or “Bowser”, the Bulldog how good life can be! Did you ever notice how a dog never holds a grudge? We can learn much about forgiveness just by observing our dogs!