|
A Lesson In Forgiveness
One day a while back, a man, his heart heavy
with grief was walking in the woods. As he
thought about his life he knew many things were
not right. He thought about those who had lied
about him back when he had a job.
His thoughts turned to those who had stolen
his things and cheated him. He remembered
family that had passed on. His mind turned to
the illness he had that no one could cure. His
very soul was filled with anger and resentment.
Standing there, searching for answers he could
not find, knowing all else had failed him, he knelt
at the base of an old oak tee to seek the one he
knew would always be there. And with tears in
his eyes, he prayed: "Lord ...You have done
wonderful things for me in this life. You have told
me to do many things for You and I happily obeyed.
Today, You have told me to forgive. I am sad Lord,
because I cannot. I don't know how. It is not fair,
Lord. I didn't deserve these wrongs that were
done against me and I shouldn't have to forgive.
As perfect as Your way is Lord, this one thing I
cannot do, for I don't know how to forgive. My
anger is so deep Lord, I fear I may not hear You,
but I pray that You teach me to do this onething
I cannot do...Teach Me To Forgive."
As he knelt there in the quiet of that old oak tree,
he felt something fall onto his shoulder. He opened
his eyes. Out of the corner of one eye he saw
something red on his shirt.
He could not turn to see what it was because where
the oak tree had been was a large square piece of
wood in the ground He raised his head and saw two
feet with a large spike through them.
He raised his head more and tears came to his eyes
as he saw Jesus hanging on the cross. He saw spikes
in His hands, a gash in His side, a torn and battered
body, and deep thorns sunk into His head. Finally he
saw the suffering and pain on His precious face.
As their eyes met, the man's tears turned to sobbing,
and Jesus began to speak.
"Have you ever told a lie", He asked? The man
answered "Yes, Lord". "Have you ever been
given too much change and kept it"? The man
answered "Yes, Lord". And the man sobbed more and
more. "Have you ever taken something from work
that wasn't yours", Jesus asked? And the man
answered "Yes, Lord". "Have you ever sworn,
using my Father's name in vain"? The man, crying
now, answered "Yes, Lord". As Jesus asked many
more times, "Have you ever?," the man's crying
became uncontrollable, for he could only answer
"Yes, Lord". Then Jesus turned His head from
one side to the other and the man felt something
fall on his shoulder. He looked and saw it was the
blood of Jesus. When he looked back up, his eyes
met those of Jesus. There was a look of love the
man had never seen before. Jesus said, "I didn't
deserve this either, but I forgave you."
|
|