Reflections of...Forgiveness!

               "Forgiveness-- it all started at The Cross!"

    Reflections Of…Forgiveness!

                                           by Alan P. Scaglione

I caught up with an old friend who has been going through a rough time lately.

After a year and a half of being clean…she relapsed—went through some rough stuff.
She is 63 days clean today.
She had a lot to talk about and…I did what a good friend does…I listened.
I could tell that she was just glad to be clean again.
I have found that no one wants to be controlled by an addiction.
IF they could have it any other way, they would.
But addiction is…what it is.
She went through the loss of her father recently…
Although it was inevitable, letting go was still so difficult.
She had put her family through a lot recently—all due to the addiction and falling off the wagon of sobriety.
She recalled her father letting her know that he forgave her and never judged her and always loved her.
She started to weep and said that was the best gift that she could have received.
Just knowing that, even though she had messed up AGAIN… her father didn’t judge her or hold it against her.
She said that he told her to always treat people the same way—don’t judge, just love them through it!
It left me thinking of how Jesus handled this situation.
Remember the time they brought the woman caught in the act of adultery?
Jesus said “He without sin cast the first stone!” John 8:7
It was obvious what she was doing—and that it was Wrong!
But instead of doing what everyone else would expect…
Jesus let the crowd know—you all have sin in your life—so the first one WITHOUT SIN—throw the first stone!
Made me think?
We all know what is the right thing to do—we’ve been taught the right thing—
Sometimes, we still do the wrong thing.
And… we know it’s the wrong thing!
It’s easy for those around to point that out and put them down and judge them for what they have done, but…
Jesus didn’t take the easy path—He chose to remind people that forgiveness is the gift that keeps on giving.
And I am always reminded…“but for the grace of God, there go I!”
It doesn’t negate the fact that the wrong was done; it doesn’t condone or approve the wrong that was done.
But it does reaffirm that… we could all be in that place at some point, where we fail, where we fall, where we flounder…
In that moment—Our Father says “I forgive you and I don’t judge you—and I love you!”
And that’s the best gift we could ever receive!
Maybe HE wants US to be more like HIM!
So go ahead… that person you have been judging and holding their mistake against them because they disappointed and hurt you…
We know, we know…you have a RIGHT to hold it against them—they hurt you! They broke your trust! They disappointed you! Let you down!
Let it go….for their sake—for YOUR sake—let it go!
And…
Forgive… it really goes a long way!
And…it feels as good giving forgiveness as it feels receiving it!
What Would Jesus Do?
We know what He would do…
Question is—What Will YOU Do?

Brother “A”

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WHEN HAVE YOU FORGIVEN OR NEED TO???