Forgiveness

This was our theme at Confirmation on Monday. We used the parable that ends this chapter. I think the harder teaching is this, "If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love."

How many of us naturally go directly to the person we have a problem with? Isn't is easier to fire off an e-mail filled with emotion? Or to go to someone else and talk about the person behind their back? The Scriptures talk more about how to love one another than they do about how to love God. Although Jesus' command is to love God and your neighbor, one is clearly harder to do (because God's not a sinner like I am).

The prayer ring Faith got from Basil and the Boston radio station that highlighted our ministry in May has not left its holster for months. If you are early to church ever and would like to pray with me before the service, just grab it and hand it to me. Then we will hold hands and pray that God uses our worship to draw us closer to him and to each other, that his Spirit fills our lives to overflowing, so that we can fulfill our role as his children of light, his servants to the world.