Good Morning. Several years ago I was hurt by a fellow believer and friend. For this story we’ll call him George. After being slandered, lied to and demoted at work, I eventually ended up losing my job largely due to the actions of George, while he landed in prison. For a few years after everything happened I would wake up at night and think about the whole thing and would replay conversations that we had. I’d ask myself if I could or should have said anything different. Every time George’s name was mentioned or I saw a picture of him, my stomach would churn. Have you ever felt that way? One day I was having dinner with one of my closest friends Terry, and out of the blue he asked me if I had ever forgave George? Now because George …show more content…
I asked myself – “Am I ready to forgive?” I didn’t answer Terry that night but eventually I started saying I think so but then I guess we’ll never know unless I see him again. George was serving 20 years in prison so I figured that the odds of seeing him again were a million to one. Over the summer he was released on parole and while I was at the mall I happened to look into a small shop and standing behind the counter working was George. George didn’t see me but I continued past the store and then stopped just outside of view. I could have done nothing and kept walking but something compelled me to go into the store and talk to him. I went to the counter and said George it’s great to see you and gave him a handshake. That something that compelled me was the grace of God. He told me that he was done with work in a few hours and if I wasn’t busy, that we should go to dinner. We spoke for a few hours and everything I said, I was sincere about. I wished him well and we parted ways. He never asked for my forgiveness that day, he was just a recipient. Through that experience God taught me about the power of forgiveness and that a forgiving heart can heal faster than a heart that takes into account wrong …show more content…
The letter is actually quite small but that doesn’t mean that it’s not packed with information. Paul teaches us a few things in this passage, first, Paul teaches a lesson on forgiveness. He tells us that forgiveness does not excuse the sin but rather takes us to a level of understanding with them. The second thing that Paul tells us is, when in leadership we need to remember that people are looking to us. Paul tries to convey that as leaders we have a moral obligation to set the example for our followers or workers. The third thing that Paul conveys to us is that the grace that God has for us, is a miracle that Philemon should show to Onesimus. Paul Shows that even in the darkest times grace can be given. Here’s a little back story on the book of Philemon. It’s estimated that Paul wrote this letter around 59 or 60 A.D. but perhaps as late as 62 A.D. Paul was at the time a prisoner in Rome awaiting trial. While in prison Paul had been mentoring a man named Onesimus, who was a slave that fled and was led to Jesus Christ though Paul’s ministry. Paul first throughout the book teaches us a lesson on forgiveness. In verse 8 – 10 it
Behind George’s impulsive enigma you can see just how much he wants to be accepted and make friends. Isolated and lonely, George bullied children who were smaller than him and appeared as ‘easy targets’ because deep down he didn't feel good about himself and wanted to be accepted due to his learning difficulties and other assorted problems. George readily agrees to the invitation to Sam’s birthday, seeing the trip as an opportunity to finally make friends. You see a glimpse of his caring nature when he gives Sam a birthday present, using all his savings to purchase him a water pistol, and ensuring he likes it. However, he was unaware of the true purpose of his invitation by the resentful Sam, forcing you to sympathise further on George and expressing his innocence and desperation to form friendships. This is further demonstrated later in the film where he lies and tells the group that he smokes cigarettes in hopes to be accepted in the group and appear as ‘cool’ by doing the things they
When Mr. Potter asked him to join his side so he could get more money, George thought better of himself and decided the best thing to do was to turn down the deal even though it was a once in a lifetime deal. George didn’t want to do it, but he at sometime had to face up to the problem of not getting to see the world like he wanted to when he was younger.
She spoke in Lennie’s voice. “I tol’ you an’ tol’ you,” she said. “I tol’ you, ‘Min’ George because he’s such a nice fella an’ good to you.’ But you don’t never take no care. You do bad things. George ain’t gonna want you aroun’ no more.”
Life as we all know is full of disappointment and filled with disparity. Most of us are able to go through these and learn from and forgive ourselves. Yet, this isn’t always the case. People are faced with traumatic experiences that often take a long time to get over, if they ever do get over it. These experiences brew in our brain popping up at the most random points often bringing our spirits down. Although these experiences may scar us and fill us with regret and guilt, we can’t continue to live in the past and let these regrets haunt us. Self forgiveness is a key to healing and to moving on in life, no matter how hard it is.
In this passage of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses several concerns. He is addressing the situation of a man who has sinned not only against himself, but against the Corinthian Church as well. He explains why he wrote a letter rather than bringing sorrow upon them. Paul is sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and in love, writes to the church encouraging them to discipline this man in love for the purpose of restoring him. He urges the Corinthians to be obedient and love the man through forgiving and encouraging him. Paul shares with them his trust in the Lord for the outcome of this matter and how burdened he was for restoration to take place. He warns them of the need to not allow Satan a foothold through this matter. Finally, Paul puts the focus on Christ; for it is in Him that we are adequate thereby becoming His fragrance to others.
Another theme of this epistle is joy. Paul rejoices in the furtherance of the gosp...
Philemon is a personal letter from the Apostle Paul written approximately AD 61 while Paul was under house arrest in Rome. It was here in prison where he met Onesimus, a runaway slave from Colossae. Apparently, he had stolen money from his master, Philemon, and fled to R...
Grayston, Kenneth. The Letters of Paul to the Philippians and to the Thessalonians. CBC. London: Cambridge U.P., 1967.
Forgiveness is a process. You can still feel the pain, see the events behind your eyes, and feel the loss of the people around you but you have to find a way to forgive. People think that if you forgive someone you are forgetting or saying hey I would hang out with this person now because we’re cool but thats not at all what forgiveness is. Forgiveness is righting the wrong for yourself because you want the injustice you feel to leave. It’s acknowledging to that there a wrong that was done to you and you decide how you want to think about it not anyone
The intended audience for this letter is the people of Corinth in 55AD. When Paul was in Corinth, Corinth was a bad place in 55AD, this is why Corinth was the city he stayed in for the longest amount of time and the place he had the most trouble in. (zaatri). This is why Paul wrote to the people of Corinth to get them all to have the same
There were multiple changes in George’s character, some blindingly obvious and some that were fairly subtle. All these changes had the same root – George’s choice to abandon his dream with Lennie and shoot his friend.
People who are able find joy in their faith and trust in God are less likely to abandon it in the face of trouble. That is why the overarching tone of the letter is one of encouragement. Thus, in many ways Paul’s message climaxes when he proclaims, “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Phil 4:13). This verse has become one of the most commonly shared among the modern Christian community, as its message of unwavering trust and an omnipotent God comforts those in times of hardship. At the writing of this letter, Paul is conscious that he appears weak. Yet in this moment of weakness, he becomes fully aware of Christ’s power resting upon him. At Paul’s weakest, he was actually at his strongest due to Christ. Christians in similar situations can look to Paul’s steadfastness in Christ during his time of hardship as an example for their own action. The letter insinuates that God will not give his children more than they can handle. Servants were intended to go through struggles, but they will be rewarded for believing in the strength of the Lord with eternal
“…..Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf…….And he was angry.” So the older son wasn’t as forgiving as the dad was. He was mad that the son took all his money and spent it then came back to the house just to get a party thrown for him. We can learn from this guy and what we can learn is that we can be more forgiving to those who we think that they don’t deserve what they have like the other son got a party that he might not have deserved. We can learn that no matter what when we don’t forgive that we won’t be thankful for things like a son coming back home but when you do forgive thinks start to make life more happy and uplifting. If I was the older son I would have forgiven him and be happy for the good food at the party. It makes thinks in life to forgive and not hold a grudge then to hold a grudge and not
Steven Standiford, chief of surgery at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, says that unforgiveness can make people sick. Emotional wounds are more harmful to our health than we realize. Built up anger will weaken your immune system causing you to feel sick more often. For this reason, we must make forgiveness a lifestyle rather than a one-time event. We must learn how to surrender the burden of anger and resentment over to God and allow Him to heal the wounds caused by others. When we forgive from our hearts, we will begin to experience the peace of God in our souls. Unforgiveness is an unnecessary weight that we carry around not realizing that it’s weighing us down and hindering our growth.
A strong Christian lesson on the true nature of forgiveness can be found in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount: