Forgiveness

I’ve seen this topic all over my social media pages following the tear-jerking and beautiful sentiments of Erika Kirk. If you didn't know, the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service took place on Sunday, September 21st, with many prominent figures who gave what can only be described as sermons - praise Jesus! There were worship leaders, pastors, baptism, and prayer. I can only imagine the energy in the stadium as tens of thousands of believers piled in and called on the Holy Spirit. I wish I could have been there myself, but alas, we live in the digital age where it still felt like I was. Anyway, I personally believe that the most remarkable feature of the service was Erika Kirk’s statement of forgiveness for the person who assassinated her husband, the father of her kids, and the mentor to all who assembled in the stadium or joined in online. The impression that the Kirk family has left on the world will hopefully last for generations to come. Through their platform, they have shown us directly what it looks like to follow Christ, even on the darkest days of our lives.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32. To be a part of the body of Christ means inherently to be forgiven and redeemed. If we choose to live in bitter hate and unforgiveness, does this conclude that we ourselves are better or wiser than Jesus Christ? On the cross, Jesus took our punishment; we deserve the cross, we deserve hell, but instead we get grace. Through the grace we were gifted so freely and so lovingly, it’s our job and a part of our design to give other people grace, too. Let God stand in judgment; that is not our job. If your grace could show even one person a characteristic of our King, isn’t it worth it?

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” – Mark 11:25. According to this passage, our forgiveness from the Father is dependent on the unforgiveness in our own hearts. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” – Luke 6:37. When we forgive, it’s not just for the other person’s feelings. It’s for our own salvation, too. Forgiveness, like every other command we receive from God, comes with a freedom that will ultimately make our lives better.

I really pray for anybody living with the weight and burden of unforgiveness. There are many crosses we have to bear, but that is not one of them. It’s not to say that we have to forget the trespasses against us. Forgiveness without forgetfulness makes us wiser people. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” – Proverbs 4:23. If someone mistreats us, forgiveness doesn’t have to come with enduring the treatment. Remembering what someone did to us is different from not forgiving them for it. Forgiveness can mean that you have distance from people who wronged you, but still pray for their salvation and for good in their lives.

Self Love vs. Selfish

Something interesting that I’ve been pondering is the difference between loving ourselves out of respect for who God made us to be versus idolizing who we are. In a world filled with advice like ‘follow your heart’ or ‘you only live once, ’ of course, we are going to see advice on loving ourselves. Much of which likely has nothing to do with God or what He intended for us. The linked article offers tips such as ‘don’t judge yourself’ and ‘know when to say no.’ These can be good at times, but let's consider the distinctions between judging ourselves and feeling convicted. Convictions will make us better people and bring us closer to Jesus. Knowing when to say no: of course, we don’t need to say yes to every single invitation; however, we are called to go the extra mile (literally- Matthew 5:41) for people.

We know for certain that God is love. If God dwells in us, we should feel love for ourselves by that fact alone. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” – 1 John 4:8. Many Christians, myself included, can tell you that they love much more deeply and certainly differently after committing their lives to Christ. By design, this extends to how we love ourselves, as well. Before knowing Jesus, I had often heard that you can’t love someone properly if you don’t love yourself first. What I know now is that you cannot love someone properly unless you love Jesus first. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:12. Allowing Jesus into your heart and making your thoughts obedient to Him will allow you to appreciate yourself and other people for their souls and nothing else.

The other evidence here for how we should love ourselves is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31. This gives us a baseline for what was previously stated. If we love God, we will naturally love ourselves. Both of which will allow us to love our neighbor. The selfish self-love we see today is keeping us from the relationship design God intended for us. Instead of the selfless love He showed us, or the merciful, forgiving, convicting, mentoring, love that wants the best for others, we see so much jealousy and unforgiveness in relationships. I see instances of projecting insecurities on other people, which ends in hatred. I’m not saying that when you become a Christian, all that goes away, but rooting your identity and who you are in Jesus Christ will allow you to feel much less insecure about the fleeting matters of the world.

I know I use this verse a lot in these posts, but I recognize it as relevant to the topic. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.  I urge you to be patient and kind with yourself. Make sure your self-care isn’t selfish or a result of jealousy or pride. It shouldn’t be dishonoring to others; for example, if you’re reading a book after a long day and someone in your house needs help with a task, come back to your alone time after you help them. It also should not be self-seeking; if you go to the gym to honor the temple the Lord blessed you with, that is one thing. If you’re going for the intent of feeling hotter or more attractive, that’s another.

God blessed us with wonderful, able bodies and minds. We are prepared to face the hills and valleys He has called before us. He thought of everything when He made us how He did. He gave us the ability to love, to feel, to excel, to sympathize, to hypothesize, and everything in between. We should truly love who we are because we were created by Him in His image. This is easier said than done, especially as a woman, but a spirit check now and then could be the difference between how you love someone that day.

God bless you. xo

Marriage as Prophecy?

Today, I would like to discuss the book of Hosea. In the Old Testament, the book is about a prophet named Hosea, and God told him to use his marriage to represent the Lord's relationship with His people, Israel. If you have read the Old Testament, you know that the people of Israel were often mind-bogglingly rebellious toward God. Reading it today, it's difficult to understand how hard-hearted they had to have been to worship a false god after seeing their God part the sea and lead them by fire and smoke to free them from slavery in Egypt. Even after all of God’s provisions, faithfulness, and communication with His people, they were still constantly in rebellion. Hosea is an incredibly interesting story, and I don’t often hear people talking about it.

It starts with Hosea hearing from the Lord to “Go and marry a woman of promiscuity and have children of promiscuity, for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity by abandoning the Lord” – Hosea 1:2. So, Hosea did what God said and married a lady named Gomer who bore him a son that was named Jezreel, meaning “God sows.” Gomer conceived again, and it was a girl who was named Lo-ruhamah, meaning “no compassion,” “For I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel” – Hosea 1:6. Then Gomer had another son named Lo-ammi, meaning “not my people.” Jezreel signified the fact that judgment was incoming. Lo-ruhamah showed Israel that God had no compassion left for the blatant disobedience. Lo-ammi is significant because it meant the Lord was temporarily suspending the covenant He had with Israel.

There is a bit to unpack here. First, we should applaud Hosea’s obedience. Most men, I imagine, are looking for a good wife and precious children. God describes them as promiscuous, yet Hosea goes and does what he’s told. Second, God using a family as a prophetic metaphor depicts in great depth how much He is in charge. He is the King of kings. That would be like a school principal renaming children to something that means “the school is closing” and “because the teachers smell bad,” to then close the school until the teachers start to take more showers. The teachers and students would know who is in charge. We can see the Lord has power over the entire universe and everything in it. Third, He shows amazing mercy and grace for us in the way He convicts us. He doesn’t just reap destruction out of nowhere. He warns, He judges, and He does what He says He’s going to.

Then, in chapter two, there is a call to repentance, “Rebuke your mother; rebuke her. For she is not my wife and I am not her husband.” – Hosea 2:2. This was their sign to rebuke those living among them promiscuously. As if Israel is a devoted husband whose wife (the ungodly people of Israel) were pursuing adulterous relationships. God says He will shame Israel if they don’t change their ways. He also says something interesting in chapter 2 verse 6: “Therefore, this is what I will do: I will block her way with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall so that she cannot find her paths.” It’s as if God wanted to completely remove the temptations for Israel to sin. He continues in chapter two to say that Israel will be led to the wilderness where they once knew God as the provider and the life. Then He says, “I will take you to be my wife forever. I will take you to be my wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion. I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.” Hosea 2:19-20.

Chapter two gets me thinking about the things in the world today that we would have to rebuke. While we don’t bow to idols in the same way people did in ancient days, there are things we do place on a pedestal when we just need to rely on Jesus as our lifeline. Then I think about how even though we idolize people or things, the Lord desires us to have Him in our hearts. Even though we metaphorically have this great Husband who loves us at an incomprehensible depth, who is loyal to us, who keeps promises He makes, and provides for us everything we need, we still are putting people who have never helped us, don’t do us any good, and often aren’t even real above him. Even though we do that, God accepts our repentance. How many husbands would do that? God says He will take us as His forever, and He will take us righteously and justly, lovingly and with compassion. He says He will show us who He is, that we will know Him. He is the best relationship we will ever have, and we, as a society, need to keep that in our hearts and actions way more than we do.

Now that His relationship is restored and God shows how loving and compassionate He is, He also restores Hosea’s children. Jezreel (God sows) will sprout new wine and fresh oil. God says He will have compassion on Lo-ruhamah (No compassion), and that Lo-ammi (Not my people) will be His people. God calls for Hosea to go back to Gomer and restore her. So Hosea goes and tells her, “You are to live with me many days. You must not be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I will act in the same way toward you.” – Hosea 3:3. We are called to belong to God, one God, the true God. Exactly like how in a covenant marriage, we are called to belong to someone else and do right by them.

The book of Hosea is a beautiful representation of God’s love for His people. Even though they were unfaithful, idolatrous, and behaved wickedly, God redeemed them again. For God to compare His love for us to the love of a marriage is a special revelation into who He is. A marriage isn’t easy; there are ups and downs, good times and bad, all of the vows, yet there is also a desire for reconciliation, which is what is depicted here. God wants us to return to Him even amid our sins. But just like Gomer had to stop being promiscuous, we too need to cut ties with our temptations.