Work In Progress
March 5
Everyone needs forgiveness.
No matter how much we mess up, God will always forgive us. Jesus even chose to forgive those who were crucifying him. Because God forgives us, we should work hard to forgive others. We can decide that someone who has wronged us doesn’t have to pay. With God’s help, we can free ourselves from the weight of anger and bitterness, while giving the other person an opportunity to rewrite the story. We start the month with an interesting moment from Jesus’ life, found in Luke 7:36-50. We find Jesus at the home of a Pharisee. While Jesus was there, a woman with a bad reputation stopped by with an expensive jar of perfume. She cried and used her tears to wash Jesus’ feet, then anointed them with perfume. The Pharisee was upset that Jesus would let a woman like this near him. Jesus responded with a parable to explain why this woman had honored Him so much. She understood something about forgiveness that the Pharisees missed.
Everyone needs forgiveness. We can’t escape it. At some point, even if what we did was unintentional, we’ll hurt someone we know. We’ll need to apologize, and hopefully, we’ll receive that person’s forgiveness. As much as others need forgiveness, we need it too. When we have this perspective, it levels the playing field. We get the chance to participate in offering forgiveness that can make things right with others. Because we need forgiveness, we should be willing to forgive people in our lives too.