July 12 Echoes of Eternity
And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32
Come to Me with all your hurts and pain. Know that I the Lord am with you and know each one. You can deal with them in self-pity, deceiving yourself—or you can choose to let them crucify
the self-love that demands to be understood and agreed with. Stop defending yourself. As soon as you feel misunderstood—stop. Take a breath and pray to see—really see—the reality of the situation. Whether you are “factually” right or not is not the important thing. The crucial point is to see into the situation and take the other’s point of view seriously. You often misread this and provoke more conflict and more pain. I will help you, but you must be willing to pay the price—and for you, that is a costly one! But be of good cheer. The end is better than the beginning.
My child, do not fret over the circumstances around you. Do not allow the sin of others to draw you into judgment and self-righteousness. Have mercy on them, as I have had mercy on you. Remember the story of the servant who was forgiven a great debt, but acted unmercifully toward a fellow-servant who owed him a small one. Do not magnify the sin of others in your own mind, but “remember the rock from which you were hewn and the pit from which you were digged.” That will enable you to “speak the truth in love” at the appointed time.