grace through faith VOL.1
MATTHEW 18: 21-35
First, please FORGIVE me for this being so late, but this week is alllll about forgiveness. If I was this behind I would usually just think to move on and start on last week’s message but this is something that I really want to talk about and share.
Recently within my family we were having a ~few~ dramatic disputes with each other. My grandma kept telling me that we must learn to forgive, NOT accept that the other is wrong or right but just forgive and move it. (DISCLAIMER) this is not to be confused with forgive and forget. Forgetting means nothing is learned and I believe in every situation you can learn something. Matthew 18 is all about forgiveness. (paraphrasing here) “’How many times must I forgive my brother, 7?’ ‘No 77.’” Meaning infinitely. I have heard this countless times in the past few months from my Nana so it felt very comfortable and familiar to hear this in mass.
Why are we all so close-minded to forgiveness? Why is it so hard for us to forgive those who wronged us?
So many people associate forgiveness with defeat. But forgiveness is not condoning. Forgiveness is power. Forgiveness is love.
Father said it best, simply forgiving is easy but nothing is gained. Simply showing compassion and “forgetting” can count as forgiveness, but that is not enough if we want to be able to walk away from a situation with the POWER of forgiveness. We must share compassion AND love because without love, there is no true forgiveness.
When we forgive someone who wronged us or forgive ourselves for being a little too hard on ourselves (we all do it, I know), we lose nothing. Rather, we ALL become victorious. We gain the victory of knowledge and lose the feeling of envy or resentment. These feelings will do nothing but intoxicate your body from your heart and mind, out through every inch of you. I like to imagine it like the darkness in Moana taking over the island of Motunui. But when we forgive we become Te Kā when she is transforming back to the beautiful goddess of flowers and green earth, radiating love and life.
Choosing to forgive is choosing to submit ourselves to Jesus Christ. In doing that we gain God’s forgiveness of ourselves and our actions. And we learn to accept ourselves and better ourselves.
So how do we learn to forgive and submit ourselves to Christ?
Going to Church is a tangible way. We are responding to the mercy of God. Giving ourselves to God is the most precious gift.
But what if God is the one we need to forgive?
Let me tell you, this month has been A MONTH. Sometimes I just feel like God is throwing things at me with no sign of relenting anytime soon. I get frustrated with Him and angry that He is putting all these obstacles into my life when He knows I am barely getting by as it is. But I know I cannot be mad at Him. As much as I believe in Catholicism I believe in the Universe. To get through hard times I have to focus on all of the things I am blessed with and try my best to radiate love and positivity. What you put into the Universe will come back to you. Through all of my struggles, at the end of the day I choose to thank God for each day and everything that it brings, good or bad. And I choose to forgive him for the bad. I know that in doing so I will be victorious. I will not succumb to the troubles I know I must endure. Instead I gain the power of forgiveness and choose to put my positivity into the world, knowing that it will come back to me eventually.
I know forgiveness can be hard but it does not have to be. Always remember, forgiveness is power and you will be triumphant.
