Many times we think we have
figured out the things that are troubling us, only to discover how wrong we are.
Faith puts its trust, not in us, but in the One whose
comprehension is far above ours! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will
make your paths straight." (Prov 3:5-6 NIV)
Take for example that poor paralytic. He had tried in
vain to understand his situation, but instead of worrying about the "why"s, he
decided to put his trust on the One who really could make a difference in his
life: "Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their
faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.'"
(Matt 9:2 NIV)
Interestingly, this paralytic had a bigger need than
healing itself, and Jesus saw directly through him and forgave his sins.
Notice that the paralytic didn't turn back to Jesus
and cry: "No, no. You have it wrong! I want to be healed!" He simply accepted
Jesus' forgiveness. And while caring for
his
primary need, Jesus also took care of
his
secondary one (See verse 6b). Truly healing and forgiveness go hand in hand.
Too often we approach God with the wrong request. Just
like that young man who once uttered that petition: "Lord, if I was rich, I
could really make a difference in this world. Imagine all the people I could
help." Truly, this was not his deepest need.
Much bigger needs, such as a hunger for God, for
acceptance, for forgiveness, lurk in the deepest recesses of our hearts. If we
don't address these, we will easily fall short of the mark and discontentment
will continue to hold us in its grasp.
I have met so many people who wish they could change
their past. They realize how they have hurt others, even their loved ones,
through their actions. If only they could take this away! They hunger for
forgiveness, but they receive indifference instead, and indifference is far
worse than anger.
But if we hunger to be forgiven, others must be
hungering for our forgiveness as well! They, too, have made wrong choices, and
if we could walk in their shoes for even one minute, we wouldn't be able to keep
ourselves from forgiving them. They need love and acceptance just like we do!
"Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Col 3:13 NIV)
We do indeed have a deep longing to be forgiven by
others, as well as by God. But let's remember that forgiveness is a matter of
faith: We either accept God at His word or we don't.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and
will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9
NIV)
Our God is faithful and just and will indeed forgive
our trespasses. But we need to believe that what He has promised us is really
true.
Forgiving others is also a matter of faith, that can
only be done through Jesus Himself, who died in agony on a rugged cross, so that
we could experience forgiveness (See John 15:13)!
I was raised with a cousin who was like a sister to
me. We shared every toy we had with one another, and as we grew older, we shared
all of our joys and fears.
One day, all of this changed. It was the day her
father died. On that day, she turned against both me and my mother (her aunt),
kicking us completely out of her life. And we are still trying to figure out
why!
I could have become angry at her for her unjust
actions. I could have even begun to hate her the way she apparently hates me.
But thanks be to God, neither hate nor unforgiveness filled my soul. She is
still
my little sister after all! Instead I started praying
for her even more earnestly. Every time anyone asks me if they can pray for me,
I ask them to please pray for my cousin, Frédérique.
Since this time, this eagerness to forgive others has
followed me around. We may not always understand the actions of others, for they
too, have experienced strenuous circumstances, but at least we can decide to
love and forgive them, standing in faith at what Jesus commanded us to do: "Love
each other as I have loved you." (John 15:12 NIV)
Looking at it that way, love is really a question of
faith!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.