Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Forgiveness and Restoration
“Come and stay at my house” (v15)
The text chosen
for today’s meditation, based on the theme Forgiveness and Restoration, talks
about the transformation of two lives, Lydia and the slave girl. Historical
evidence shows both were well accomplished women from a worldly standard. Luke
covers the stories of three individuals (jailer being the third) who became
believers through Paul’s ministry in Philippi during his second missionary
journey. Here we see how act of forgiveness liberates these two women from the
bondage of sin and darkness. As mentioned above, they both were financially
well accomplished and socially recognized individuals but it’s quite evident
from the passage that they both experienced a vacuum within until the
deliverance happens. For Lydia it was a delivering experience of opening of her
heart and a spontaneous transformation of accepting and receiving others. For
the slave girl, it was a delivering experience of her realization that she was
a slave to some evil minds and spirits and a spontaneous transformation of
being liberated from the bondage. Forgiveness of the sins, beginning with
repentance, is a pre.requisite to attain salvation. Forgiveness restores. Let’s
meditate some of the experiences the act of forgiveness brings to
restoring.
Forgiveness
restores tolerance:
Forgiveness in today’s context is quite a relevant topic especially in an
increasingly intolerant society. Intolerance is seen
everywhere whether within family, society or between cultures, countries and so
on. Often we find the motives not quite right, and are driven by mere
selfishness. Media also, to a certain extend, is responsible to promote
intolerance in their mad run to increase viewer rating. The kind of trials
that's brought before the judges in some of the top rated TV programs warrants
no real judgment! Sometimes I feel I'm wasting my time watching! We just
witnessed the horror of theater shooting that killed a husband and a father,
quite a pity and a shame to know it all started with a simple argument over
texting!
Forgiveness
restores inner peace:
Only those who exercised the act of forgiveness knows how liberating an experience
is and it restores peace within and lifts the heaviness from inside. We do not
realize that we are carrying the baggage of burden of unforgiving spirit for
such long which eventually damages the health of our body and mind. John
Bunyan’s pilgrim’s progress is a classic portrayal of our life and its
struggles.
Forgiveness
restores relationship:
Finally, the epitome of forgiveness was witnessed from the hills of Calvary
which resulted in the restoration of the entire humanity. We see it in the life
of Jacob, how haunting it was just by the very thought till he meets his
brother Esau and sought forgiveness. The lost son had his relationship restored
when sought forgiveness from his father.
Prayer: Forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors
Thought for the
day: “The weak can never
forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong” – Mahatma Gandhi
George Sam, Immanuel MTC, Virginia