And it was not just about me, but the church and body of Christ in general. It is in human nature for us to expect to be on the receiving end of the good things only, but not tolerate any flaws in the same people that deliver the goodness.
Now, of course some people are outright wicked that even the few times they were apparently good to you, the motive behind their actions was pure evil. Forget those ones. I am talking about the ones that genuinely bless us and make us feel special and loved, only for them to one day totally get it wrong and hurt us. Why don’t we ever get over those hurts?
The Spirit of the Lord placed one brother in Christ on my heart, whose one imperfection is often a reference point by many of us in my church, yet – as the Holy Spirit reminded me – that same brother once sold his car and gave all the proceeds to the church’s building project, by then in its early, expensive stage.
The Lord reminded me of that one act by the brother, now staying too far out of town to congregate with us, and I felt so ashamed. I picked up my phone and called him, and he was so surprised to hear from me.
I could not explain why I was calling, but it just felt strangely freeing to talk to him once again and pray for him, beseeching God on his behalf as I stood on that generous seed he once brought to God’s work. Like Mordecai, I pray the books of remembrance are opened for his sake.
Are you, like many of us in the habit of allowing small-small mistakes to erase the huge blessings people bestowed upon your life? Learn to keep a record of the good things too.
I am quite intentional in this; when I feel someone grating on my last nerve and pushing me to breaking point, I start mentally listing all the things I love about that person and all the ways they have been a blessing in the past.
It has made it easier to forgive and move on with my life; try it. Stop focusing all your energy on how much this person has hurt you or disappointed you, and instead zoom in on those moments they were pure gold. Thank me later…
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