The pastor's sermon about forgiveness spoke to my heart.
It was my first time visiting the church. After the service, I backed my car up and then felt a thump on my bumper, which jolted me forward. In my rearview mirror, I saw the other driver, an older gentleman in the driver's seat of a Volkswagen. We got out of our cars and met in the middle of the row.
“Are you okay?” we asked at the same time. We looked each other over. Nothing bleeding or broken.
“No harm done,” I said.
He extended his hand and smiled. “Name's John. You sat near me in the back row.”
“I'm Gina.” I shook his hand. “Nice to bump into you again.”
Neither of us looked closely at either bumper. There was no way either of us could stand at the foot of the cross and tell Jesus a little chipped paint and a few dents mattered. Jesus couldn't have spoken more directly to us at that moment unless He had appeared at the collision scene.
That church became my home church. My new friend John and I sat on the back row together often.
Jesus was clear that we forgive each other as we would like to be forgiven. He made it a part of teaching us how to pray because of the act's importance. Jesus wants us to talk to Him about forgiving others—to give us the ability to have mercy toward others, especially when it's not easy.
Why not ask God to help you approach others with forgiveness?
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Gina Napoli lives in Harrisburg, PA, and is author of Clunk on the Head: How the Holy Spirit Got Our Attention. She has also been published in Highlights for Children, Pockets, Guardian Angel Kids, Hopscotch, and Humpty Dumpty. She publishes articles regularly in two regional publications: The Burg and Business Woman. She also publishes in the state-wide online magazine, Keystone Edge. Her writing is featured in two book anthologies: A Community of Writers and Bitter Sweet. Two hundred of her pieces appear in almost sixty different print and electronic media venues.