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St. Luke 15:11-23
A certain man
had two sons: And the younger of them
said to his father, Father, give me
the portion of goods that falleth to
me. So his father divided unto them
his living. And not many days after
the younger son gathered all together,
and took his journey into a far
country, and there wasted his
substance with riotous living. And
when he had spent all, there arose a
mighty famine in that land: and he
began to be in want. And he went and
joined himself to a citizen of that
country; and he sent him into his
fields to feed swine. And he would
fain have filled his belly with the
husks that the swine did eat: and no
man gave unto him.
And when he came
to himself, he said, How many hired
servants of my father's have bread
enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger! I will arise and go to my
father, and will say unto him, Father;
I have sinned against heaven, and
before thee. And am no more worthy to
be called thy son: make me as one of
thy hired servants. And he arose, and
came to his father, but when he was
yet a great way off, his father saw
him, and had compassion, and ran, and
fell on his neck and kissed him.
And the son said
unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight, and
am no more worthy to be called thy
son. But the father said to his
servants, Bring forth the best robe,
and put it on him; and put a ring on
his hand, and shoes on his feet: And
bring hither the fatted calf, and kill
it; and let us eat, and be merry: For
this my son was dead, and is alive
again; he was lost, and is found. And
they began to be merry.
Too often we
have allowed things to come between
us, and the ones we love the most. In
homes all over the world today there
are families and relationships,
marriages and friendships that have
been broken apart and split because of
the things someone has said or done.
It may even be those who are the
closest to you that have hurt you the
most. What about the times when we
have said or done something to hurt
the very ones we love?
Ecclesiastes
7:21-22 There is not a just man
upon the earth, that doeth good, and
sinneth not. Also take no heed unto
all words that are spoken; lest thou
hear thy servant curse thee: For
oftentimes also thine own heart
knoweth that thou thyself likewise
hast cursed others.
We get angry
with one another and before you know
it we begin to say hurtful things that
cut like a knife. It's when we hold
onto those hurtful things that tear
apart at the fabrics of our
relationships. Little by little the
threads begin to unravel and fall
apart because of the grievances of our
heart. The Bible says that if we bite
and devour one another, to take heed
that we are not consumed one of
another and if we do not forgive
others of their wrong doings, neither
will our heavenly Father forgive us of
our wrong doings. Why is it easier to
hold on to a grudge rather than to
say, I'm sorry?
Matthew
18:21-22 Peter asked Jesus a very
important question saying, Lord, how
often shall my brother sin against me,
and I forgive him? till seven times?
Luke 17:4 And Jesus replied,
"If he trespass against thee seven
times in a day, and seven times in a
day turn again to thee, saying, I
repent; thou shalt forgive him."
Real love is
manifested here in the father's
compassion. For when his son was yet a
great way off, his father saw him, and
had compassion, and ran, and fell on
his neck and kissed him. We see the
same love manifested in our Heavenly
Father who does not condemn us for the
things that we have done wrong, but
with arms outstretched He receives us
back into His family, as Sons and
Daughters
.
Love is
patient, Love is kind. It does not
envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, and it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices in the truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes,
and always perseveres.
From time to
time we need to take account of our
own heart and to see what things have
accumulated there. Is there any
unforgiveness that we are holding
onto? Have we allowed resentments to
push us away from the very ones that
we were at one time so close to? If
so, we need to let go of it. Let go
of all the hurts, the resentments, the
bitterness, and the anger. We should
never let the sun go down without
first resolving any thing that has
come between us. We need those times
of reconciliation where we run back
into the arms of those we love and
say, I'm sorry, please forgive me.
Love
is the answer. To those who have been
your enemies, love them. To those who
hate you, do good to them. To those
who curse you, bless them. And for
those who despitefully use you pray
for them. That we may be the children
of our Father in heaven.
~~Rev. James A. Lewis~~
Rev. James and Jody Lewis
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