It was a cold, wintery afternoon when I received the letter. This was back when people actually wrote letters. There was no return address – no indication of who wrote it. I scanned the letter until the words jumped off the page, “God has forgiven me, and I pray that you will too.” My heart stopped. Instantly, I knew exactly who this was from and what this was about.
I was filled with venom. I couldn’t believe it. How dare he! How did he think a measly letter would pardon years of hurt, pain, and abuse? I soon realized my anger wasn’t only targeted at him.
I raged wildly against God. How could You, Lord?!? How could You forgive the man who violated me? How could You make this man my ‘brother’ in Christ? I hate him, Lord, so You should hate him too!
I felt sick. I cried angry violent tears for days. I whined. I pouted. I ran far from church. The words of the Bible rang hollow and empty.
I was Jonah.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. – John 3:17
The irony is, I viewed the forgiveness of my sin as proof of God’s merciful love for me, yet I viewed this man’s sin as justification for God’s wrath towards him. I wanted a God in my own image – One who freely forgives me for anything but severely punishes my enemies for everything. However, that is not the God of the Bible.
This is God’s heart for all people – for all sinners – that not one person would spend eternity separated from Him in hell. God loves and desires to connect deeply with each one of us through the redemption of His Son Jesus. God pours out His unlimited mercy and compassion, not desiring anyone to perish. From the very moment one receives Jesus, they receive not only His forgiveness but also His perfect righteousness. Jesus makes one right with God, all at once and for eternity. This is the gospel.
The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. – Psalm 103:8-10
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
I’m ashamed to admit that in my prideful anger and bitterness, I had decided that a person was not worthy of God’s forgiveness and mercy. My anger clouded the truth of God’s Word. I struggled to see the light of the gospel of Jesus.
When Jesus, our Good Shepherd, leaves the ninety-nine sheep to pursue the one lost sheep, it seems foolish and reckless…unless the one lost sheep is you. Jesus’ passionate pursuit of sinners defines who He is. That same passion should define God’s children as well.
… for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. – Luke 19:10
Even in my pain-riddled disobedience, the Holy Spirit relentlessly pursued me. His overwhelming love drew me back to Him. The key to true forgiveness in my life has been humbly meditating on just how much God has forgiven me. To keep from looking down on my enemies, I look up at the Cross.
When I view myself as superior to another, I remember that my right standing with God is based solely on Jesus and what He has done, not on anything that I have done.
When I meditate on Jesus’ torturous sacrifice on the Cross, I remember that His sacrifice wasn’t just for me but for everyone, including those who sin against me.
When I think of the gospel, I remember that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross. None of us is worthy of God’s unfailing love, yet He offers it freely to us all.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us. – Psalm 103:11-12
There will come that day when Jesus returns, and He will judge those who have rejected Him. But that day has not yet come. So until then, we must persevere in love…and love hard!
True Christian love doesn’t come easy. It’s a sacrifice that the world will never understand. If loving and forgiving people never cost us anything, we would never value the sacrificial love that Jesus has for us. The more we have of Jesus, the more we love like Jesus.
Love is not simply what God does. Love is who God is. Love offers Himself sacrificially and promiscuously without discrimination, without hesitation, and without judgment.
Jesus loved His Father and His people to the point of death. There is nothing that Jesus wouldn’t sacrifice in the name of love.
There is no place that Jesus won’t go.
There is no one that Jesus is unwilling to connect with.
There is no limit to the lengths that Jesus will go to reach the lost.
Jesus came to save!
Let’s Chat:
- In what situation or circumstance are you in need of a heart that loves how God loves?
- How can we pray for you as you strive to live out the gospel of grace?
Peace and grace to you,
Terria serves on the LGG encourager and social media teams. She lives in Virginia with her husband. She is a proud mother of two beautiful girls in college. Her passion is igniting and empowering women to grab hold of God’s truth and cling to it. She can be found hard at work in military hospitals listening to patients’ stories, while sharing the love that God has poured out in her life. Despite the sometimes chaotic circumstances of Terria’s life, God always shows Himself strong and loving.
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Friends, we would love your prayers and support! Love God Greatly is going to Germany! We are putting on a one-day women’s conference in Frankfurt, Germany open to ALL women in Europe as well as a two-day training intensive for our LGG European leaders and translators THIS SATURDAY.
One of our European translators said, “The training, as well as the community, is especially important because the “job” of a translator is very isolated and can be lonely and under attack. Through the training, we can share each other’s stories, see each other face to face and not only screen to screen. The training has to fit the country, meaning: Europe is very different than the US, has different challenges and cultural backgrounds.”
Please share the information below and tell your friends in Europe about our upcoming conference! We would love to meet them on SATURDAY!
Click here to find out more about our upcoming women’s conference!
Yes, I once was a lost sheep and Jesus left the 99 one and went to find me. But I still don’t understand: so how do I balance myself when people step over me, inrespectful. Do I look up to the cross instead of them and continuing to show God’s love to them. Shall I think back how God’s show his grace and love to me when I disobeyed Him ?
Can anyone join me for a prayer now ? Dear Lord, please forgive my stubbornness and disobedience. I am so forgetful about all the grace that you have shown me. Please help me to have a heart of you, being compassionate, graceful to people. Help me to be more like you ! I pray in Jesus Nane, Amen.
Linda, all I know is when I start looking at what others are doing. I think I can’t change them, none of them. But I can work on myself. I prayed your prayer. Thank you. We all have work to do. Keeping our eyes on Jesus is the best answer!
Amen!
Oh Linda, I totally relate to your frustration, your confusion, and your discouragement. Whew! The Christian walk is hard! Yet, God is so faithful and so committed to us. That truth is what I cling to. I have to pray about “the balance” every single day, because the truth is that God may call you to do different things with different people in different situations. But I will share with you the question I ask myself when I am faced with those tough choices…”which choice will glorify God (in their life and in mine)”. Often times, it will be the uncomfortable choice ? but it will be best for our growth and transformation. Linda, we won’t always get it right…we are imperfect but perfectly righteous and perfectly His. Cindy (commenter) was right; we all have work to do, but we also have each other. I will absolutely be praying for you! I ask that you pray for me too, because this is a daily divine battle! ❤️
Terria, I thought this wasn’t written so well! What a beautiful reminder to love like Jesus. I have trouble understanding how to do that. But in you blog you explained it so very well. Thank you for this words. I needed to him them. I pray I remember them in my daily walk. God Bless you and all the efforts you all make at LGG.
Cindy,
I’m so glad that you heard from God through this post. I’m so glad I’m not alone in my struggle to love like Jesus. I will be praying for you and with you as you add even more love to your daily walk with God! ?
Wow! What powerful words penned straight from our Good Good Father’s heart to us! Thank you, Terria, for your obedience to be His conduit to us through your heartfelt writing and transparency. Your words (HIS Word) will be life-changing for us today. Press on, Dear Sister…… He is using you to make an Eternal Difference today!
Joan, thank you so much for your encouraging words. You are so right…it is ONLY through Him.To God be the glory! ❤️
Thank you for your vulnerability. It is reaching many hearts and helping to break down walls of unforgiveness. I honor you as you blessed me today.
Terri,
Sharing this was terrifying, but necessary. The poison of unforgiveness almost consumed me, and I don’t wish that for anyone else. God doesn’t wish that for anyone! Thank you for your sweet message. You have blessed ME today! ❤️
Terria, I relate to this message, and am struggling with God’s forgiveness and forgiving the offense myself. My father, a “Christian” sexually abused my daughter, his granddaughter, when she was a young child and when she was a preteen. This has caused my sweet daughter to run far from her home and family through college and work. She connects sparingly and we are struggling to regain relationship with her. I am hurt, angry and feel quite betrayed by the man i called daddy all my life. I only found out a few years ago, and it has crushed me and broken my heart. I must wrestle with God in order to find forgiveness in my heart for this horrible offense. Please pray that I will be able to obey God and release forgiveness soon, as well as prayer for reconciliation with my daughter. Thank you for sharing your story. It brings some encouragement to my aching heart to know this is possible.
I am soooo sorry! My heart breaks for you. The devastating pain and guilt that you are experiencing must be overwhelming! As you probably already know, the struggle to forgive is hard, painful, and often feels impossible. Yet, God is there in the struggle. He is the ONLY thing that comforted me, and I pray He comforts you and your daughter as well.
I wish I could say the process is easy. It is not. I wish I could say I don’t struggle today. I still do. But the weight of it all…anger, bitterness, shame, unforgiveness…buries me alive. I gradually let go of that which I could no longer carry and spilled it all, including myself, into God’s waiting arms. I will absolutely be praying for you and your daughter. You and your daughter are not alone, and you never have been! Love you, sister! ❤️
Father God, we are broken. We have been undone. Their sin took pieces of us that did not belong to them. We fear we have lost those pieces forever. Lord, make us whole again. Heal every scar. Fade every memory. Restore in us Your joy and peace. We thank You, God, for Your promises of comfort for the broken-hearted, strength for the weak, restoration of all that which was lost, and the exchange of beauty for ashes. We know Your promises. We believe Your promises. But please help our unbelief.
Lord, help us to release the weight and burden of the emotions raging inside of us. Help us to release the pain of these offenses and the fate of the offenders to You and You alone. Help us to keep standing when we feel like collapsing. Help us to remain hopeful when we are drowning in despair.
Lord, help us to fight to forgive even when it’s with clenched fists and gritted teeth, because it is destroying us not to. Help us to forgive the unforgivable. Help us to forgive when we desire only vengeance, retribution, and justice. Help us to forgive whenever we are confronted with overwhelming pain and anger. Help us to forgive our inability to change the past. Help us to forgive because You live in us and through us, and it is only through Your power and love that we can do anything. We love You, Lord, and this pain will not define us. We are Your daughters, and we are overcomers, always victorious in You. In the name and mighty power of Jesus. Amen.
Terri:
Appreciate your courage to share this. Thank you for your trust and let us remembering in our daily prayers. Things sometimes seems hard, and impossible on us. But God is so near you. As a matter of fact, he is right beside you. May He heal you, your daughter and granddaughter in an amazing way. Thank you for your encouragement. And we will continue to share how God works on our life.