|
In the world of forgiveness, what goes
around comes around. The forgiveness that I send to others comes
multiplied back to me.
If my heart is hard and I carry heavy burdens, there is only one way to
lift the load. Every ounce of forgiveness that I dispense to others
lifts a ton off the burden I must bear. Others don’t need my
forgiveness nearly as much as I need it myself.
As the years go by, I accumulate a mountain of trash and toxic waste in
my mind. Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. If I let them
accumulate for a lifetime, my burdens become impossible to bear. When I
forgive my enemies, my burdens instantly disappear.
Forgiveness washes the pollution of resentment and ill-will from my
mind. It’s better than magic, because it’s not a trick. It’s the real
thing. Forgiveness does everything it’s advertised to do, and it’s
free. I don’t need to spend thousands of dollars and years in therapy
to get a fresh start. All I need to do is forgive.
A forgiving heart
is a forgiven heart.
Copyright © 2013
|
|
The greatest weapon of mass destruction in the past one-hundred years is
not the atomic bomb, anthrax, or nerve gas. It's television.
Television relentlessly hammers a destructive message into everyone's
mind, "Image is everything." We live in an image-oriented society
ruled by sound and video bites. Public figures who lose their moral
compass are found to have an "image problem." Even in our private
lives, image reigns supreme. Maintaining and projecting a good image
takes mountains of cash, and what's worse, it's a moving target.
I'm always treating casualties of the image wars. Folks think that they
are too tall or too short, too fat or two thin. Their nose is too big
or bent this way or that. Teeth are crooked, and their hair is the
wrong color, too curly, or not curly enough. Television advertises
billions of dollars worth of products that will help you correct all of
your deficiencies so that you project a desirable image.
If you bear deep scars from the image wars, I have good news for you.
God says that everyone is beautiful, and I'm inclined to agree with Him.
God created hair, teeth, fingers, toes and noses. He also created ears,
eyes, arms and legs. When he was done with his creation, He said it was
good.
You face a choice. You can listen
to Hollywood tell you all the reasons why you fall short of their
beautiful image, or you can listen to the God who created you.
If you are smart, you'll listen to God. God actually wants you to live
in an image-oriented lifestyle. After all, you are made in the image of
God; and you bear His likeness. It's time for you to step up and live
in the image of God. That's who you really are, and don't you forget
it.
You are truly beautiful.
|
