Can We Forgive Ourselves?
Good Morning Friends,
It is not as easy as it looks when you are trying to forgive yourself for something that you have done wrong. I have been watching the T.V. program, Alaska the Last Frontier that relates to this problem. This family lives a subsistence lifestyle that is filled with effort-based rewards and despite all of their mistakes they press on. As a society there are several things we have done that in retrospect are not healthy mentally or physically. Our local Blue Zone project is teaching us that cultural forces have an effect on our health. For example despite the existence of a vastly improved health care system and a multi-billion dollar antidepressant industry, the rates of depression in the US remain alarmingly high. Some age populations have exceedingly high incidents of depression and it has been associated by some with a disconnection of those populations with a spiritual family that lives on…a connection with community. An exploration of lifestyle changes over the past century suggests that not only as a community are we bowling alone but that the level of physical activity necessary to provide life’s basic resources, referred to as effort-based rewards, has diminished. Another good reason to garden. Still at some level we might just be fighting over these scarce reinforcement resources. In our industrialized, technologically advanced, service-oriented society our minimal engagement in such endeavors may be leading to a compromised resilience upon our exposure to life’s stressful challenges. But do not get depressed about it. That is part of the problem. So today we explore the need to bounce back from failure. Today we explore the nature of resilience and ask… Can We Forgive Ourselves?
Scripture: Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Mark 1:15 (NRSV)
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles–the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 4:12-17 (NRSV)
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Matthew 4:23-25 (NRSV)
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep. ‘He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
John 21:15-17 (NRSV)
Message: There are certain things that I have done in my life that I punish myself for …over and over again. Collectively we can have the same problem. At times these failures seem almost impossible to overcome. But we can we glean from scripture some things that will help us get past those things that keep us chained to the past. Today as we look to the New Year I am exploring the need to be connected to something that will last. I have been starting off the year using the Beatitudes as a way of confession and in it I discovered that seeking to understand the nature of the Kingdom of God…the nature of resilience…requires us to repent… for here in God’s moment we discover fulfillment…we encounter a living God. Here repentance takes real effort and is not an end or a season but a proclamation that signifies the nearness of God as a way of life. Here blessings and happiness are not far from reach. For here in our hearts, in our minds and in our relationships with others Jesus will reign if we but repent and believe. To enter this Kingdom we are asked to do those two things…repent and believe. And yet it is not so easy for us Here in the Beatitudes we must confess that the traditional wisdom of the world is worthless. Here we discover that the world’s priorities are opposite of God’s. And so it is that in truly repenting we discover that only the Kingdom of hope has arrived…and though it has arrived with power…. it has also arrived powerfully upside down. So we await the invitation as we realize we must deal with our past in order to experience not only the forgiveness that Jesus brought to us on the cross, but to understand that his grace is sufficient to guide us into what we are becoming. Forgiving ourselves is part of the Christian package.
Pray we are not depressed. Pray that we be confessing and convincing Christians worthy of the name. Pray we revisit, repent and renew our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit before the throne of God. Pray we be humble. Pray that the attitudes of our hearts and the outward visible way we live change in response to Jesus. Pray we pursue right thinking and right living. Pray we ask for help. Pray we be open to the Holy Spirit and our collective call to repentance. Pray we forgive others. Pray our joy in the Lord be our strength. Pray the fruits of confession, forgiveness and reconciliation are always ripe for harvesting. Pray our efforts and rewards are more about meaning than measurement. Pray our efforts be collective in naming our affliction, regretting our actions and changing our directions to allow God to connect us to something eternal and in the process transform us. Pray we become free to seek the Good News and rewards found in both patience and true repentance. Pray we are called and recalled by the amazing love of God to discover a resilience that lasts.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 