Forgiveness

As I survey my own heart it is apparent that much of my life has been spent either remembering wrongs done to me or lamenting that I was remembering them. This morning I was gently nagged and agitated by these and I counseled myself to forgive and move on since Jesus has forgiven me. Moving over to my computer I selected my favorite online bible site and searched "forgiveness". The first return was from Psalm 130 so I read it over. This Psalm is beautiful from beginning to end but it was this verse that caught me:

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I place my hope.

Forgiveness is something we all need to realize for ourselves before we can actually offer it to others from our hearts. After all, Jesus taught us that any other type of forgiveness is insufficient. Meditating upon this, it dawned on me that we don't simply forgive someone directly. We must first work out the issue of our own forgiveness with God. This is where the psalmist's utter dependence upon the God "in whom there is forgiveness" struck me. Spending time reflecting on the forgiveness that God has afforded me melted away the nagging, rotten, churning bitterness in my own heart, (and stomach). The soul must wait upon God's forgiveness, clinging to his promise to cleanse us through the work of his son Jesus. Now I can begin again to forgive as I have been forgiven.