I thought I had forgiven everyone who had offended me. Then I had my quiet time, and God’s word to me was, “Really? Have you really?” Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of how angry I am at the mothers recently who killed their children. No, I don’t personally know them, but I am offended at their actions and excuses. He reminded me of the Fox News host who had been fired for inappropriate behavior with women. This was in the forefront of my mind today because one of the women he victimized committed suicide this weekend. Did I know this commentator personally? No, but I was incensed at his actions and would have called hell fire down on him if that had been in my power to do so. Finally, He brought to mind the commentators (two of them) who broke up their families when they committed adultery and married each other. Again, not personal acquaintances but still a thorn burrowing beneath my skin that makes it hard for me to see either one of them on the TV.
Jesus died for everyone, not just the ones that I personally consider worthy. He wants to give those mother-murderers the chance to be saved. He wants to forgive the man who used his power in the network to abuse women. And He wants me to forgive those who committed adultery and then broadcast their actions on the network. He already forgave, but have I? Have I let it go? I truly am working on that so that bile doesn’t rise up when I hear their stories again and again. I will be honest and say that I don’t watch any of the celebrities or join in the excuses for the mothers. I will, however, according to God’s instructions, pray that He will gently lead each of them to Himself so that they can find mercy and forgiveness just as I did.
God reminded me that He forgave ALL of my sins. No, I didn’t kill an innocent child, abuse another person or commit adultery. But God doesn’t have degrees of sin. Every sin is just sin to Him and keeps the sinners out of His presence, doomed for an eternity without Him. Do I want them to be saved? That’s a hard question, isn’t it? I want to say that I don’t want anyone to perish, just as God says. But, again, I am working on that attitude in my heart. It is all starting with my attitude of forgiveness, so each time some heinous act and the actor come to my mind, I am asking God to bring His love and mercy and forgiveness to that situation. I am not the final judge and God doesn’t want my opinion; He wants me to be right with Him by forgiving even when I don’t think others deserve it. I didn’t either.
The first image is the reason I pray for forgiveness for all and the second image is why. There is no hope without God, and in this perplexing world of values turned upside down, God is still King of Kings and still offers the free gift of His forgiveness to all, to every single person regardless of what they have done. We can do no less than follow His example.
