Forgiveness

A collegue, out of nowhere, handed me a book this morning - one of those Christian Publications that teach you a little about the faith, and hopefully get you interested enough to ask for more information.

It was on the topic of forgiveness, and stressed the need for you to forgive your peers, as a prerequisite for receiving God's forgiveness. I dont have the book with me now, but it quoted several texts (I am sure correctly) that supported this view.

Rubbish.

You would have me believe that the forgiveness of God, a.k.a. the Love of God, is conditional? That God will only love me if I love Him first, and forgive others first?
What - did Christ, bleeding and dying on the Cross that first Good Friday, suddenly look the camera's and Mel Gibson in the eye and say "This offer of Salvation for a limited time only: Terms and conditions apply" ??

But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us
Romans 5:8

Christ died for you whether you wanted it or not. God loves you whether you believe in Him or not, and irrespective of whether or not you think you deserve His Love. And God, with the death of His only Begotton Son, has forgiven all our sins whether we acknowledge them or not.

The key here is WHETHER WE ACCEPT THAT FORGIVENESS.
If I am hard and bitter and vindictive, can I imagine a God who is kind and gentle and generous?
If "I dont get angry - I get even" is my rule in life, can I believe in a God who takes the lash on His own back on my behalf, when I am unfaithful to Him?
If I live my life saying "I will enjoy myself to the max, and then say I am sorry before I die", am I sure that as I die I will be NOT be angry because of all the pleasures I will no longer experience?
No.
It is only when we ourselves become forgiving people that we begin to appreciate forgiveness, and understand that we ourselves can be forgiven. This is by an act of free will, a conscious choice we make, to forgive. We do not forgive because "we are afraid God will penalise us if we dont forgive". Christ died for sinners, not for 144,000 Christians with a 'holier than thou' attitude. Salvation is not a reward for the good, but a gift poured out freely for Jews and Gentiles alike.

Isiah 55:1 ""Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. "

All you have to do is come, and receive.
Pax Vobiscum.

The Man I Want to Speak To

A Short Story

(Thanks Steven, who first taught me this)

The trap is used to catch the rabbit...
After the rabbit is caught, the trap is of no use, and we put the trap away.
The net is used to catch the fish...
After the fish is caught, the net is of no use, and we put the net away.
The words are used to catch the truth...
When I meet the man who has put away the words... he is the man I want to speak to.

(I advise you stop reading here, so that you can have your own relevation... but if you want to read mine, read on)

We are surrounded with rules, with teachings, with 'process' and 'procedures'. It is the rare person who can look at all this "how" and discover the "why". In the end, many of us are just following what we are taught, and think what we are told to think.

"Our religion is the TRUE FAITH."

"They are WRONG - we are RIGHT"

"Strangers are TERRORISTS"

"They are soldiers of the great SATAN"

"They destroyed our TOWERS so we will lay their land WASTE."

"JERUSALEM is OUR Holy City"

Always you look in black and white..... always you use the words to separate yourself from your brother. You are chewing the trap and forgetting the rabbit, sucking the net and dropping the fish.

Behind all those words there is only One God. Come to Him, and put the words away.
Pax Vobiscum

To the Man who stole my watch at the pool.

It is a good watch: I have had it for over 10 years, and it has kept time faithfully all through except for the times when the battery needed changing and when water got into it at the pool (after a badly done battery change).

I took it off, and put it in the soap dish in the shower, telling myself not to forget it when I got out. Then I forgot it when I got out to go to the pool. I only remembered it after doing 1 lap, but by then you had already taken it.

So what shall I say to you, who took what is not yours? Should I rant and rave? Call down curses on your head? Wish you mayhem and malady? I would like to...... but;

I wish you fair winds and sunny skies.
I pray you find happiness in the honest work your hands accomplish from day to day.
I wish health to you and your loved ones, blessings on your children, peace in your home.
I pray you learn from your mistakes, and never have to suffer from them.
I pray you look back on your life on day, and see it filled with experiences more precious than diamonds.

Pax Vobiscum.

Dhammapada verse 366

A monk who does not despise what he has received, even though it be little, who is pure in livelihood and unremitting in effort, him even the gods praise.
(from "Dhammapada - a practical guide to right living" Sukhi Hotu Dhamma Publications)

P. and I were attending a function at head office, sponsored by HR, and there were refreshments served. After the function, we stayed ther to work ,and noticed lots of leftover cookies in a box. The organisers told us repeatedly to help ourselves, because they didnt want to take the food back themselves.

Well, P and I worked till late, then before we left we decided to take the box of cookies back to our branch to share with the guys there. I put the cookies in tha pantry the next morning with a sign saying they were from HR, and everyone was wellcome to help themselves.

Imagine my surprise later in the day when I was making a cup of coffee and someone started complaining - he had a bad impression of HR because they had sent just ONE box of cookies. He thought it was bad of the company to have such a TIGHT budget and not provide more food for staff.

I was really dissapointed, but it also taught me a lesson - I have in the past made the same mistake that that collegue made.... I have looked at benefits that are given unconditionally, whether deserved or not, and criticised them. I have been ruled by my cravings, and have grumbled about what I have been given because it was little.

Now - I dont belittle the fact that an employer is obligated to pay a fair wage for a fair days work, neither do I ignore the fact that some employers unfairly load employees with ridiculously high expectations.

But we as employees also have obligations - to give that fair day's work, and to recognise when something 'extra' is given, not because we did our jobs, but for whatever reason, or no reason at all.

It would make us better people, in some ways, to expect less of others, and more of our selves.
Pax Vobiscum.

Ash Wednesday, 2006-03-01

'Ash Wednesday' is the beginning of the season in the Catholic church known as 'Lent'
I just want to share something about a song we sang at church that day.
I haven't memorised all the words, but mostly it goes like this:

Ashes

We rise again from ashes, from the good we've failed to do,
We rise again from ashes, to create ourselves anew,
If all our world is ashes, then must our lives be too,
An offering of ashes, and offering to You.

Now - i googled the lyrics, and was surprised to find this article and this article where these lyrics were said to be heretical..... there was another, but can't find it now.

Strange.... I was taught long ago to see things 'with the eyes of faith', and so in that context, I never thought of the words 'to create ourselves anew' as being heretical.

To me, the words talk about me making a new decision, having a change of heart, and re-aligning myself to the will of God. That is the only context in which the following lines make sense, i.e. having established that the whole world, and our lives, are no more than ashes, we offer these up as "An offering of ashes, and offering to You." The song continues;

We offer you our failures, we offer you attempts,
The gifts not fully given, the dreams no fully dreamt,
give our stumbling direction, give our visions wider view,
An offering of ashes, an offering to You.

We do not need to be perfect to come before God, indeed, if He wanted perfection, then we are doomed from the word GO. It is our incompleteness, our failures, our stumbling that God loves, so we come to Him in all our brokenness, our seflishness, our parochialism, our limited vision. He takes these ashes, and accepts them with love. And so the song continues;

Then rise again from ashes, let healing come to pain,
Though Spring has turned to winter, and Sunshine turned to rain,
The rain we'll use for growing, and create the world anew,
From an offering of ashes, an offering to You.

In the book of Job (chapter 5 verse 7) it says: "Man is born to suffering.." So this verse talks about the pain and sadness we all feel at one time or another. However, God uses this pain and suffering to make us grow, learn, and become richer in understanding and wisdom. We are raised up by our Creator, like Phoenix from the ashes, into new life. Finally;

Thanks be to the Father, who made us like Himself,
Thanks be to the Son, who saved us by His Death,
Thanks be to the Spirit, who creates the world anew,
From an offering of ashes, and offering to You.

Here we touch the untouchable, speak of the incomprehensible. God is one, and God is three Persons. And God personally involves Himself in

1. Our creation - Not in the sense of our imperfection, but in the sense of our potential to be perfect.
2. Our salvation - By His death, Christ freed us once and for ever from the imperfection of sin. We need only step up and accept this free and unconditional gift, in exchange for our ashes.
3. Our re-creation - We are made new again by the Spirit, who brings new life into our ashes.

If you have read this far, thanks for sharing this short reflection with me.
NOTE: If I have infringed on any copyrights by blogging this reflection, please let me know what I have done wrong, and I will remove the offending content. Thanks !
Pax Vobiscum