June 25, 2019
Taylor and I talk a lot about our ability to say sorry. I am the one who says it pretty quickly to end a confrontation and ease the tension. I may not even mean what I say- I may still think I’m 100% right but I don’t want to disturb the appearance of perfection so I can pipe one out fairly quickly. Taylor is the opposite. She will withhold an apology till the cows come home- if that apology has to go to her husband- well, the cows don’t come home for days. We laugh a lot about the ways our pride and our personality dictate our ability and our willingness to forgive. It’s a trait Jesus offered so mercifully to all of us and yet so many of us offer it with words and not hearts- while others of us refuse to offer it at all. I was thinking about the idea of forgiveness when I was challenged with another thought- did Jesus come so I would be sorry, or did He come so I would be repentant? Did he die on the cross so I would feel bad, or did he bear this weight so I would be changed? Forgiveness is so important- but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Jesus requires a heart change and that takes both a forgiving heart and a desire to act, to turn away from the wrong. What an amazing God we serve! He offers us this amazing kind of forgiveness, mercy and grace daily. He pours it over us and yet- I still hold tightly to a grudge or my anger with the strength of a thousand. I’m not sure if any of you have a burden you need to lay down- if you need to offer an apology or one needs to be offered to you; if you need to turn away from an evil or you need to let go of a past. My prayer for you today is that you can find some rest in the power of the cross. That you can be moved by the fact that Jesus didn’t ask for you to be sorry; he longs for you to be changed. That change may start with an apology but it will end with a new creation- one that will still fail and fall- it may struggle with half-apologies or the ability to give one at all- but it will be from a heart utterly redeemed by Jesus: Renewed daily by the power of salvation, the goodness of a Father who is always with us, and the unconditional love of a God who never gives up on our ability to be moved by his grace.
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