Life, a Series of Forgiveness’s

Here is food for thought:  When you read the scripture it is stated plain and simple.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all true knowledge.”  I believe that to be true however I also believe when you read it you must pay attention to the word “beginning.”  As I have grown and enjoyed Gods’ love and forgiveness I have come to believe that the greatest fear I should have is that one day God would simply throw up his hands and say, “I am through with you, Lew Duffey.”

There have been times when I felt that God had turned away.   Those were the times when he simply became silent and I feared his absence.  That silence was the worse punishment he could give me.  That silence was louder than thunder and sometimes his forgiveness is softer than a breeze.

As I look back on my life I am reminded of many mistakes that have caused God to seemingly pull away or become silent.  I am also aware of the many times he has gently said, “I forgive.”

There is another bible verse that I am constantly reminded of, usually said by a church pastor just before he passes the offering plate.  “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  This is truly a wise saying; however let us look at the word blessed.  One word for ‘blessed’ is ‘holy’ another is sacred and still another is sanctified.  You will not find the word ‘lucky’ in the definition of ‘blessed’, however you will find the word ‘blessed’ if you look up the word lucky.  Could it be that Jesus meant, “It is luckier for a man to give than to receive?”  I have felt for a long time that to give is a lucky thing, or since I do not believe in luck so much I will say it is a happy situation to be able to give than to receive.  You see, it is truly an auspicious set of circumstance when a man has it go give and it is a wonderful feeling to hear someone say, “Thank you.”  It is not usually so happy for the man who has been down to be in a position to have to feel that he is a lesser man or in some way inferior to someone who has enough to able to give.

This begs me to ask, “Was Jesus saying blessed as in sanctified or consecrated? “  Could it not mean that he was saying, “Blessed” is in fortunate or happy?”

Could it not be that blessings are not a secured place in Heaven, which he gives to us freely through his death on the cross and his resurrection?  Note, he gave; we received.  Through his death and resurrection our attendance in Heaven is secured through his forgiveness.  To forgive is to pardon.  When he died to pay for our sins it gave to us clemency.  His mercy is our absolution.  This says to me that what we do here on Earth does not put stars in our crown or secure a higher seat in the Heavenly kingdom.  When we give to those in need we are giving as a response to God because through his Son, Jesus Christ we were given pardon and so we give as a response to his love.  This is in itself a blessing which we enjoy here on Earth and during our life.

Life is indeed a series of forgiveness’s because; though we try to serve our Lord as a response to his love for us we will fail.  I was raised in a church that taught that on a specific day in history we give our heart and soul over to God and become saved.  How many times have you heard someone say, “I am saved, therefore I cannot sin?”  Paul wrote, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  He also wrote, “I am the greatest among all sinners.”  Note that he did not say, I was but have turned away from sin.”  We try but we fail.  God forgives and that is our absolution.

I praise God that though I am sure I will fail more often than I would like, he will not run out of pardon so long as I am able to confess my failures and lay them on his strong shoulders.

Let us all rely on Gods never-ending love.

God bless all who have taken the time to read this.