I was just reading New Life Live's letter, at; http: //
www.newlife.com/articles/article.asp?libid=1720 ;
You know, learning to live life as God intended involves learning that much of life is a process, and not a string of disconnected events. Let me give you a couple of examples.
My good friend Dave Stoop is an expert in the area of forgiveness. And he talks about the process of forgiveness. He makes the point that the bigger the infraction, the longer it takes to forgive someone. We make the decision early on, but it may take some days or weeks or months to finally work through the process of forgiveness—depending how little or big the thing you’re forgiving is.
In his book, Forgiving the Unforgivable, Dave takes the position that God decided to forgive Adam and Eve when they sinned in the garden, but his forgiveness wasn’t complete until Jesus, on the cross, said, “It is finished!” The “it” Jesus was referring to was our forgiveness. The first sin of Adam and Eve was so serious, so offensive to God, that it took him all of the Old Testament to express his anger and his sadness and get to the point of final forgiveness.
In my book, ealing is a Choice, HH Healing is a Choice, I talk about the process of healing, and I point out that it all starts with a decision. You must answer this question . . . the same question Jesus asked the crippled man at the pool of Bethsaida . . . “Do you want to be healed?”
Once you make that decision, then you have steps to take. You have some things to work on. You may have forgiveness to seek; you may have to have a tough conversation to let someone know what you’re struggling with or how they’ve hurt you. You’re likely to have to take a step of faith that makes you real uncomfortable. But, whatever it is, it’s the first step on to the path of healing.
Now, we think of Christmas as an event, or maybe as a time of year. It’s that special morning when kids get excited to open gifts. It’s putting up the tree and the lights and all the decorations. It’s Christmas Carols and a candlelight service. It’s all pointed toward that blessed, and expectant event—Christ’s birth.
As special as Christ’s birth was, and is in our hearts, when you stop and think about it, it was really a simple birth. A child born in a manger . . . unnoticed, humble, and simple surroundings.
But the surroundings and events leading up to that first Christmas were incredible! After all, this is the only virgin birth there ever was. It was heralded by a host of heavenly angels. The shepherds came to see and spread the word. It was the fulfillment of prophecy and something simply amazing and important.
But, Christmas is not an event. Like so much in life, it’s a process. After all, what’s so special about Christmas if Jesus’ perfect life, his death and resurrection didn’t follow?
I had never thought of the old testement, that way, like God just had to express his dissapointment, to get the people ready to be forgiven, and thus able to give forgiveness. What a Blessing that is!
I pray we can all accept God's gift of forgiveness, this season, and by accepting it, be more able to give it to those we need to not just for their seak but for our owne. God Bless you all, and all you love. Remember God loves us first, and only expects us to love him back. Only Believe. in Jesus precious Name, Amen