I have never made any secret of the fact that I am a Christian. So, for the past several years, when attending Church has been impossible due to pain, mobility issues or my severely compromised immune system from chemotherapy treatment, I have turned on my television and watched, “The Christian Worship Hour” every Sunday morning at 8 a.m on Channel 23.
Each week Pastor Harold Salem delivers a great bible-based sermon. This robust ninety-six-year old minister, former sheep rancher and bull rider from Aberdeen, South Dakota, is one of the best gospel preachers I have ever heard.
Pastor Salem always preaches that we should open our Bibles and read them. He also always recommends that new Christian converts should begin their Bible reading with the Gospel of John. Last January, I decided to take his advice and began reading the entire Bible…cover to cover.
The New Testament was a quick read and a source of great inspiration and comfort. I have almost completed reading the Old Testament, and have just a few of the books from the minor prophets to finish. I will start reading the Book of Amos today. I hope to finish reading the Old Testament shortly, so that I can begin re-reading the Gospels before Christmas during Advent.
It has been very good for me to read the Bible. After reading most of the Old Testament there are many passages that I still do not understand. Some, still freak me out a bit. Especially, the first five books of law, sacrifice and justice. At first, those books seem so restrictive, uncompromising and in many ways very harsh. When put into the context of the time in which God gave humans these laws, it becomes quickly apparent that God was and is always only interested what is best for us. Like any loving parent, at times he has to say no and provide rules for guidance for our own good.
I have learned that if humans had chosen to follow God’s intent, they would have been at peace with their neighbors, safe within their borders, and enjoyed health, happiness and many other benefits. Throughout the Old Testament, God shows more patience than humans deserve. And, time and time again he overcomes his disgust, disappointment, hurt and anger to forgive and welcome back into his loving arms human sinners.
For the repentant sinner, God’s forgiveness is complete.
Jeremiah 31:34
“No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
As former Sunday School teacher, youth mentor and confirmation teacher and continual sinner myself, I think teaching and practicing forgiveness as demonstrated by God, “to remember their sins no more,” or taught by Christ, to “Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us,” is in practical terms almost impossible.
Forgiving people is hard. Sometimes, I don’t even want to forgive. But, I have learned that while it is nice to be forgiven, it is much better to forgive and forget.
As an artist who can paint precise and subtle details of a landscape from memory, it is very hard for me to forget anything. I learned long ago that keeping a list of old grievances stored up, only hurt myself and is a complete waste of time and energy. That type of attitude is a recipe for bitterness and could be the text book definition of self-defeating.
True forgiveness requires forgetfulness. Forgiving and “remembering no more” lets the forgiver heal and avoid living a life drowning in anger and resentment.
While God expects us to forgive, he does not require Christians to play the victim or be victimized. Not at all. Yes, we are instructed by Christ to forgive 7 X 70 times; however, he also says there comes a time when you dust off your feet and move on. The Bible does not condone abuse. Jesus himself instructed that the second greatest commandment, the first being loving the Lord thy God, is to treat everyone as we would like to be treated ourselves.
One of my all-time favorite stories from Pastor Salem is about forgiveness and how God meant for it to work. The story goes like this….there once was a young boy who had a very beloved cat. The boy and his cat were inseparable, then one day the boy’s pet cat died. His mother knowing how much the cat meant to her son, helped him bury the cat in the backyard with appropriate honors.
As they were covering up the cat with dirt, the little boy grabbed his mother’s hand and frantically pleaded with her if they could please just let the cat’s tail stick out. That way if his cat wasn’t really dead, he would see the tail move and could get him out of the grave. Well, the mother thought this would be all right. So the cat was buried with the tail sticking out.
Everyday the little boy would check on his cat’s tail to see if it was going to move. After several days, he just had to check on the whole cat…so he dug his pet up. After inspecting the dead cat, and seeing that it did not look very good, he and his mom, again, buried the cat. Still he wanted that tail to stick out.
A week went by and the little boy again felt compelled to dig up his cat to see if it was really dead. By now the cat was really looking bad. After inspecting the dead cat, the little boy turned to his mother and said, “I guess, I need to bury the cat, tail and all.”
True forgiveness means burying the cat…tail and all. It has been my experience that after I practice forgiveness, the blinders of bitterness come off. All of the angry energy produced by the hurt is gone and I am filled with the most wonderful sense of freedom and thankfulness.
I am thankful that I have spent so much time in the word this year. After reading almost the entire Bible, I am left with no doubt what-so-ever that there is a God and he is a God of love, whose sole intention from the very beginning was for humans to live joy-filled lives.
I also learned that God did not make evil, but he did make evil possible. God knew that true love is a gift that has to be freely given. He desired our love, and chose to risk rejection by allowing free-will or choice. God cannot and would not ever promote evil. That would be impossible, because evil is against his very nature. However, he does permit evil, as a consequence of human free-will choices.
Even when humans choose to reject God and turn to evil or sin, he promises to never forsake us or leave us. When we ask for his forgiveness, through repentance, he washes us clean, time after time after time, without end.
God makes each day of our lives an opportunity to forgive and “bury the cat.” To heal the wounds and scars of the past and start over. He offers us not just one life, or nine-lives like a cat, but eternal life. For that I am ever so blessed and grateful.
May the joy of a thankful heart be yours as we move towards our national holiday set aside to thank a loving God who only and always wants to shower his beloved humanity with blessings.
The Swedish Farmer's Daughter 