Obviously, the greatest gift was Christ’s gift of the restoration between us and the Father. No gift could be greater! But this writing is about the greatest gift we as believers in Jesus can give each other. Genuine forgiveness.
Let me give you an example; My wife and I have been churchless for a while. There was a big broo-ha-ha, and we left one we had been going to for about a year. So, we’ve been floating around out here not knowing where to go. Ever happen to any of you? Anyway, we happened to drive by the church we had been going to before the one that had the breakup. I said’ “Why can’t we go back here?” She said, “I always liked it here, but you were the one who made us leave.”
That caused me to think why? So here goes; I judged them wrongly. Sometimes when you read as much as I do with the bible, the only thing you get is pride. That’s the exact opposite of what I’m supposed to get. My reading should lead me to fear and humility. But I felt their doctrine was weak and why should I hang out with them?
If you have been reading my stuff lately you might have seen a change in my attitude. Doctrine means nothing if there is no love or compassion in me. Doctrine does not bring unity. Only love can draw us together. I mean real Christlike love!
As I pondered my error, I realized it would be improper for me to just drop in out of the blue without any warning. And as I pondered further, I knew that I needed to apologize for my actions and attitudes first. This weighed heavy on my shoulders, and I could not feel any relief and I could not sleep. So, I drove there the other day looking for the pastors. They weren’t there yet, so I left my number and said either one could please call. Time went by, and I thought neither one wanted to talk to me, and they probably had to flip a coin. Who would lose?
That afternoon the older pastor called. Before any pleasantries were discussed, I blurted out that I was an arrogant finger-pointer, and I was so sorry and pleaded for forgiveness. I’m sure the Spirit had impressed on me how large my need for repentance was, because I took the pastor kind of by surprise. But, in the most gracious and tender way, he gave me his complete forgiveness. Oh, the relief! And the freedom!
I’ve written before about 1 John 1: 9 about confessing our sins to each other and that act cleanses us from our unrighteousness. Immediately after the pastor forgave me, the sensation of feeling clean fell all over me. We can make each other clean through our love and forgiveness. That is a much better feeling than just being right about doctrine or beliefs. I’d rather be clean. It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time.
When I was a teenager, us church kids got together every Friday night. I remember the first thing we did was share our failures to honor Christ that week. We always got our confessions out first! I believe this opened up our hearts for the things the Spirit wanted to share with us. We were clean and free and of course teachable.
As we get older, it is easy to lose our tenderness and turn cold. As a kid, my heart was a flame for Christ. As I aged it turned to stone. A heart on fire fears nothing. A heart of stone hides itself from others. I wish to be compassionate again. I wish to be full of love. I wish for your best!
So, what’s the greatest gift we can give each other?
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