Forgiveness

I watched a movie yesterday called "Amish Grace".  It made me think A LOT about the petty things that I worry about.  If you haven;t watched it, its a movie based on a true story.  A man goes into an Amish school and shoots several girls then kills himself.  That same day (according to the movie) a couple of the Amish elders along with one of the men who lost a daughter go to the shooter's house to speak to his widow.  She thinks they are there out of anger but they were there to offer their condolences for her loss as well as to let her know that they forgave her husband for what he did.

What?????  Wow.  Why?

Because God tells us to. God asks us to forgive others when they wrong us.  And when we pray The Lord's prayer, we ask God to "forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"

Unforgiveness is ugly and if left in our hears, it will take over and before we know it, there is no room left for love.  Unforgiveness does not hurt the person who wronged us.  It hurts us.  It can not undo what was done.  It creates a barrier between us and God.  It creates a barrier between us and other people.  It can consume our thoughts and control our emotions.  It can affect out health adversely.  It's just plain ugly.

There is one judge and He is just. 

I don't know much about the Amish but from what I saw, there is something to be said for living such a simple life. 

I am so petty sometimes.  I don't want to be.  I want to be quick to forgive.  I want to have 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 love:

 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Lord, mold me into who You created me to be. I want to lead a Spirit filled life so that my every step is directed by You.