Are you finding it hard to forgive someone lately?
When the email arrived in my inbox, I was tempted to trash it. It was a kind of “Kids say the craziest things” collection, and I have to admit, I didn’t have the time to read it. Work was waiting.
It was one child’s take on the Lord’s prayer, however, that really caught my attention. It went like this:
“And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our basket.”
Wow, I thought. If that child only knew how right they were!
I have to admit…
It’s easy for me to ask God to forgive the sin in my life. (My personal trash basket.) But oh how much harder it is to forgive those that frustrate and complicate my life with their sins. The ones that put their trash in my basket of life.
I certainly don’t want God remembering or punishing me for my flub ups. Yet, for some reason, I don’t seem to mind Him recalling the offenses of the people who have wronged or hurt me. I would imagine you understand and might even be going through something similar of this nature right now.
It’s in those times that I have to consciously remind myself that God has not only forgiven, He loves the folks that hurt me. I didn’t say it was easy. But the reality is—Christ died for their sins too. Not just mine.
Sure, I’d like to think I am the center of my Creator’s world. But I’m not. There’s a few billion more out there that He has His eye on and cares about as well. In an odd way, that’s comforting. Why? Because it means that He deals with my trash and your trash everyday-and He can handle it. Our trash baskets don’t phase Him a bit and what’s inside of them doesn’t change His love for either of us. That’s a pretty amazing thought.
There’s a great verse that helps me come to see that perhaps God just might be the great trash taker-outter.
It reads:
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins. Psalm 103:12
Just my thoughts,
S.
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