Jesus has a way of turning things upside down. He certainly does with the definition of greatness. Carry the following quote into your day, it's from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:
"Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important, wonderful. If you want to be recognized, wonderful. If you want to be great, wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s your new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it, by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant." One of the Christian's most powerful weapons in life is the act of forgiveness. As human beings we are conditioned to seek justice or fairness, but so often in situations of loss, where we have been hurt or wronged by another, such fairness is elusive. Besides, our quest for retribution or even revenge becomes a cancer in our own souls. Nelson Mandela once said, Bitterness is the poison we drink hoping our enemy will die."
Jesus taught us to forgive, knowing very well its cost. He did so because he knew that it has tremendous healing power to arrest the cancer of anger and bitterness. He knew it was the way to defeat the enemy of our souls. He lived and died what he taught. He lives on to show how the Story ends. Forgiveness opens your heart to a new horizon. Like anything, we choose to live it by faith. The following is from the pen of Johann Christoph Arnold: "Indeed, far from leaving us weak and vulnerable, forgiveness is empowering, both to the person who grants it and the one who receives it. In bringing relief to the most difficult situations, it allows us to lay aside the riddles of retribution and human fairness, and to experience peace of heart. Finally, it sets into motion a positive chain reaction that passes on the fruits of our forgiveness to others." |
AuthorPastor Ward Parkinson Archives
October 2023
Categories
All
|