Matthew 6:14-15
“14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Matthew 8:11-12
“11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

If we’ve learned, we should know forgiveness. Forgiveness doesn’t flourish where there’s hate and hate kills the soul. Forgiveness feeds the soul and frees us from the chains of hate and pain.

What kind of people would celebrate the murder of 49 people? A couple of pastors did, haters, bigots, narrow minded, prejudiced, homophobic.  And all Christians are lumped in with them as haters and bigots. Meanwhile, the same horrible event brings a speaker who says she’s afraid because there are so many white people there (mourning at the rally). Hater, bigot, narrow minded, prejudiced, anglophobic. I wonder what group she gets lumped in with? Hmmmm. I expect that from people. Sad, but that is our natural condition. Anyway, that’s not what’s important here.

As Christians, we have a teacher, a Lord who has told us what’s right and wrong. He tells us what to do, how to be in the world, what He expects from us, what His way is. We are to conform or we will be on the outside gnashing our teeth. Reality is that hate isn’t part of Christ, and shouldn’t be part of Christianity. It is though, just like it’s part of the world. Sad, but the day is coming. Forgiveness is core to Christianity; extreme, radical forgiveness.

I don’t know what took me here today.

Christ calls us to forgive like Him, to love like Him, to live in Him, with Him, for Him. Let’s focus on Him and let God do what God will do. Let’s be in a place where God works through us and we don’t try to do His work for Him.

Philippians 4:9
“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”