Generous With Our Forgiveness
I'm so enjoying Derek's teaching this week. I'm sure you are too. And Sir, over to you again, Derek.
Forgiveness Takes Willingness
Thank you. Let's talk today about being generous with our forgiveness, because I believe that it takes a conscious act of willingness, an act of obedience for us to practice forgiveness. And the reason I say this is because I've discovered that we leak. And especially in our ability to forgive.
Power of a Child's Prayer
Here's a little story. A mother took her children to a restaurant and the six-year-old son asked if he could say blessing. And as they bowed their heads and prayed, he prayed: “God is good. God is great. Thank You for the food. And I want to thank You even more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. Amen.”
Now along with all the laughter from the other customers, a woman nearby remarked, “That's what's wrong with this country. Kids don't even know how to pray, asking God for ice cream. Wow, I never heard such a thing.”
The little boy began to cry and asked his mom, “Did I get it wrong? Is God mad at me?” As the mother held him and assured him that he’d done a terrific job and God was certainly not cross with him, an elderly gentleman approached the table, winked at the boy and said, “I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.”
“Really?” the little guy asked. “Cross my heart,” the man answered. And then in a theatrical whisper, he added in with enough volume for the critical woman to hear, “Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”
Living Out Grace
That mother did buy an ice cream at the end of the meal, and the son stared at the ice cream for a moment and then did something special. He picked it up and without a word, walked over to the lady that had criticized him and with a big smile, he told her, “Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul, and my soul's good already.”
That little boy understood and exemplified what it means to be generous with our forgiveness.
How are you doing, folks, with your forgiveness?
