"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
There is a song by The Sidewalk Prophets called “You Loved Me Anyway”, and it includes the following lyrics…”I am the thorn in Your crown, But You love me anyway, I am the sweat from Your brow, But You love me anyway, I am the nail in Your wrist, But You love me anyway, I am Judas’ kiss, But You love me anyway”. I have heard this song many times before…but a few days ago it came on the radio…a few days after I have been “wronged” by another…I was bitter, angry, and resentful…and I wasn’t moving from that position anytime soon. But God grabbed ahold of me through the lyrics…shaking me from my “funk”, allowing me to see that I had made mistakes too, and He loved me in spite of them…and that I have a choice in situations like this one…I can choose to love or to hate, to hold a grudge or to forgive, to be angry and resentful, or tolerant and understanding. But I must actively pursue it…I can’t sit back in my bitterness and expect it to just happen…I have to make an active decision to choose the narrow gate…to choose forgiveness. If I simply sit back and don’t actively pursue righteousness, the “vines” of rage, anger, and bitterness will cling tight to my life…and that frustration and anger will remain like a black cloud over me, keeping me from moving forward. But much like Christ forgives each of us and moves forward, we must also do the same…leaving behind past transgressions…forgiving those who trespass against us…no matter what the circumstances. When we actively do this…when we truly reach a place of forgiveness and compassion, there is a great release of burden that once weighed on our shoulders. May we actively choose love today…and forgive others as we have been forgiven. To God be the glory!
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