That verse kind of hit me in the face today. I've had a few conversations lately with a few people about relationships and about being angry at others because of their sin. Or - just being angry at others in general. Because - sometimes it's SO HARD TO LOVE OTHERS. I mean, seriously. There are some days that I want to throw my hands in the air and say I'm done. But - what good would that do? I'm better than that. So - I fight. I fight to love. I fight to serve. I fight for them. and - honestly, it's hard. It's a struggle. I don't always succeed and I don't always get it right. But - hopefully... after all is said and done... they can say I loved them. I fought for them. I was there for them.
I've been thinking a lot about death lately and for some reason I was wondering what my tombstone would say. I, more than anything, want it to say "A woman who truly LOVED." or a funny one would be "Favorite to Many, Loved by All". Hahaha. OR - "Aliens are real. REJOICE!". Hahaha. I don't know why my thoughts ventured there. They just did. and - maybe it's revealing my sin, in a way. I don't necessarily need people to believe those things as much as I long for them to be true. I want to love and love well. Whether it's acknowledged or in secret. I want to love Christ, his church, his people, and THE WORLD. I don't want to love the people it's convenient to love... I want to love the difficult ones, the unreached, the left out, and everyone in between.
Back to anger. Ha. So - during one of these conversations with an awesome friend... He put it this way... "It's like this... think of something you struggle with and haven't really been able to overcome. What if someone was mad at you because of that sin?" That statement literally blew my mind. I mean, if that was the case... everyone would be mad at everyone the majority of the time. Who am I to judge? I mean, if I'm a friend and there's an obvious problem, I think I'm totally justified in confronting you in love and in private... but there's no reason for me to be angry. So - I'm working on changing my mindset in that area. and - praying that the Lord would bring that about in me.
So - LIFE group was tonight and, of course, it was AMAZING. We watched a video and there were a few things that were mentioned that I'd like to share. :o) The main thing is this... Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. Come on! THAT'S GOOD, YO! Because - deciding to hold on to things isn't hurting the person you're upset with. Not really. It's hurting you. It's creating bitterness and is leading you to a very ugly place. He also said that forgiveness is a command AND forgiveness needs to be continual. It's an ongoing thing. and - because we were forgiven we should forgive. It's not easy. But - it's completely necessary.
GOD IS SO GOOD Y'ALL!! FOR REAL.
James
So - LIFE group was tonight and, of course, it was AMAZING. We watched a video and there were a few things that were mentioned that I'd like to share. :o) The main thing is this... Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. Come on! THAT'S GOOD, YO! Because - deciding to hold on to things isn't hurting the person you're upset with. Not really. It's hurting you. It's creating bitterness and is leading you to a very ugly place. He also said that forgiveness is a command AND forgiveness needs to be continual. It's an ongoing thing. and - because we were forgiven we should forgive. It's not easy. But - it's completely necessary.
GOD IS SO GOOD Y'ALL!! FOR REAL.
James
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