bluidkiti
01-21-2014, 11:10 AM
The Right Tool
Read Matthew 18:21-35
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
-Colossians 3:13 (NRSV)
A few days ago, a friend of mine showed me a picture that was marred by a crease that nearly obliterated the face of the person in the photo. Obviously upset, she said, "It got folded over somehow. The picture means a lot to me."
I rushed to the rescue. "I can fix it. I'll scan it into my computer, open the photo editor, and use the clone tool and maybe the healing brush on the crease." The damage to her picture was actually easy to fix, with the right tools.
What fixes life's scratches and creases? Our lives are not simple photographs, but a powerful tool is available to heal us. Jesus brought us the tool of forgiveness. Through Christ, the destructive creases and scratches that have damaged our image are wiped out by grace when God forgives us.
And Christ has placed in our hands the healing tool of forgiveness to use in our relationships. Because of the power to forgive, we no longer have to live with the hurts that divide us from one another. We have the tool to fix the picture.
Robert W. Dell (Kansas, USA)
Prayer
Thank you, God, for forgiveness and grace that heal the divisions among us. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Where do I need the healing power of forgiveness?
Read Matthew 18:21-35
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
-Colossians 3:13 (NRSV)
A few days ago, a friend of mine showed me a picture that was marred by a crease that nearly obliterated the face of the person in the photo. Obviously upset, she said, "It got folded over somehow. The picture means a lot to me."
I rushed to the rescue. "I can fix it. I'll scan it into my computer, open the photo editor, and use the clone tool and maybe the healing brush on the crease." The damage to her picture was actually easy to fix, with the right tools.
What fixes life's scratches and creases? Our lives are not simple photographs, but a powerful tool is available to heal us. Jesus brought us the tool of forgiveness. Through Christ, the destructive creases and scratches that have damaged our image are wiped out by grace when God forgives us.
And Christ has placed in our hands the healing tool of forgiveness to use in our relationships. Because of the power to forgive, we no longer have to live with the hurts that divide us from one another. We have the tool to fix the picture.
Robert W. Dell (Kansas, USA)
Prayer
Thank you, God, for forgiveness and grace that heal the divisions among us. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Where do I need the healing power of forgiveness?