6.5-Forgiveness is expensive, but unforgiveness is more expensive.

6.5-

We are persistent in prayer regardless of the immediate challenge we are under.

Psalm 119.

¹⁵⁰ Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
    but they are far from your law.

Lately, I have been tempted by the evil one to be negative, judgmental, selfish, harsh and unkind.  I have sought forgiveness from God.  My story is one of being a child of God purely by His grace and mercy.

2 Corinthians 2.
⁵ If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. ⁶ The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷ Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹ in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Matthew 18.
³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Forgiveness is expensive, but unforgiveness is more expensive.

I cannot justify myself because my life is a mess except for God's amazing grace.

The forgiveness of sins in the Christian system cost the life of the son of God on the cross.  When He gave so much then our hearts are stretched like David's to say that we don't want to give to God that which costs us nothing.

2 Samuel 24.
²⁴ But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
 

I watched children playing the the swimming pool this week and watched them be completely trusting of the adults around them.  We were watching a television show this week where the parents were not watching their son in the pool and he drifted into a deep area without being able to swim.  They were so busy worrying about their two other children that they didn't notice the danger their third child had drifted it.  Children trust.  They expect their parents to be reliable, but sometimes we are not.

How could I be arrogant?  I fall into the traps of lusts and desires, anger and rage, self promotion and deceit.  How many times when my parents lived here on earth did I fail to properly honor and support them.  Too many to count.  On top all of this is my unwillingness to surrender the control of my life to Jesus as my Lord.  It is my the forgiveness from God that I can be His child.  How then could I not be forgiving of others who fall short of the goal?  I don't know.

God, please open the eyes of my heart.

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹ My heart is not proud, Lord,
    my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
    or things too wonderful for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted myself,
    I am like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child I am content.

³ Israel, put your hope in the Lord
    both now and forevermore.

Larry Wishard
6.1.17