Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20
"Remember when you were the bad guys?" She asked.
The General was not amused. The talk of who is good and who is bad had long since failed to motivate him. He was just trying to survive.
He didn't care if she prayed. He didn't care what she said about God. He was exhausted, thoroughly, in his spirit and his heart, if he had one. He had nothing to care with, no strength whatsoever. But God had set guards around him, the disbelieving General, of righteousness and kindness. They had sheltered him.
"I am not disbelieving," he corrected her.
He saw what had happened there, the way armies fought each other instead of the real enemy, the way innocents ran and the guilty fell in pursuit. He saw weak people who triumphed and the strong who failed. He knew something she did not. He knew the war was almost over. He knew, deep in his tired heart, the battle is not yours, but the Lord's. He knew redemption was the only way out of this because he had seen all of the other ways and they had not worked.
He believed her prayers would be answered, for him and his country, and hers.
He said, "All of these other things are nonsense, but that is the truth."
"How will we fix everything?" She asked.
He shook his head.
He shook his head. "There is no time for that, there is only enough time to forgive."
She forgave him then.
And he forgave her.
And he forgave her.
If only religion and faith could guide people to be caring for all things that are good for all. Sadly brains are complex and so is how ithey view what is good. If all people could be doing universal goodness then forgiveness would hardly matter. But even the faithful find it difficult due to differences in thinking.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Heidrun. I have a friend who says there is the way one person sees things and the way another person sees things and then there is the way God sees things. I wonder how many times that is 3 distinctly different things.
DeleteYou must forgive, even 77 times.
ReplyDeleteBlessed day:)
And that's really what it's all about.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's really what it's all about.
ReplyDeleteI believe we are all getting very close to this..."there is only enough time to forgive"...and so we should forgive one another and be prepared to meet the Lord in the air. It won't be long I'm a thinking...
ReplyDeleteLovely Sandi, peace in our times, always living in hope.
ReplyDeleteLo mejor es perdonar.
ReplyDelete",,,only enough time to forgive." Thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteBe "slow to anger" - very good advice, as there isn't any real value in anger. Unlike God's anger, human anger stems from ignorance and impatience.
ReplyDeleteRedemption and Forgivness are the only way to get prayers answered, and they are not always the easy way out of mess.
A happy ending.
ReplyDeleteYour story makes me Imagine how many un-needed words there are between people, and between nations, when all that is needed is those few , asking for forgiveness and forgiving the other. Poof! No need for tank! All is forgiven!!
ReplyDeleteForgiveness is very important in life Sandi, for if we keep a record of wrongs and don't forgive others then God won't forgive us.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Touching.
ReplyDeletedepends on the day. i work on it ... trying to be more patient. ( ;
ReplyDeleteI like the passage, Sandi.
ReplyDeleteAh Sandi such a lovely message. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteGod has forgiven us so much how can we not forgive others. Though sometimes it is very hard.
ReplyDeleteGod has countless qualities and one of them which let us go on and on inspite of all sin and mistakes is
ReplyDelete"Forgiveness "
He loves so he forgives
If we learn to love selflessly we would either
Forgiveness is great virtue!
ReplyDeleteWhat a thought-provoking post, Sandi. Perfect for these sad days. Take care!
ReplyDeleteGod bless, Sandi.
ReplyDeletethank you so much for your comment on my post-hugs
ReplyDeleteLoved this post! special, forgiveness is everything
ReplyDeleteSandi, que Deus nos proteja no agora e no sempre!
ReplyDeleteUm grande beijinho!
Megy Maia🌺🍀🍁
Obrigado, Megy! 🌸
Deletesometimes there is no fixing things
ReplyDeleteI think about that concerning our World Wars and Cold War, also with China. Governments and leaders are one thing. But People everywhere need our compassion.
ReplyDeletekindness and forgiveness, they go hand and hand!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan