Considering Grace and Forgiveness

"Give us this day our daily bread."
Give us grace for today; feed the famished affections.

"And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
And Love is reflected in love.

Grace and forgiveness are beautiful concepts to consider.

Forgiveness seems fairly straight-forward. But have you thought of forgiveness as absolution? as acquittal? as allowance, amnesty, benevolence, clemency, compassion, condolence, destigmatization, dismissal, exculpation, excuse, exoneration, favor, feeling, forbearance, forgetfulness, heedlessness, humanity, kindness, leniency, mercy, mitigation, pardon, pity, purgation, relief, remission, reprieve, sympathy, tolerance, vindication, and yes, even grace?

And dictionaries give the word grace at least 9 different shades of meaning: There is the aspect of grace that includes kindness and good will. The aspect that means effortless fluidity and power of movement. And that which shines with inherent beauty. But the most important is the aspect of grace is that one which relates to God: the grace of unconditional love.

And it's this concept of grace, this unearned unconditional love, that both sustains and forgives.

Consider Jesus' words:

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

This is not an invitation to be a doormat. No. Just the opposite. Nor is it an invitation to think you're better - or worse - than anyone else. No. It is an invitation to understand something surprisingly much more important:

Unconditional Love is an irresistable everpresent power.

And it's yours to live. And it's yours to give.

God pours out this sunshine and rain - this power - His Love - to everyone (including you) unconditionally.

You don't earn it. You don't have to obey some bunch of human rules or bribe some hierarchy or bow down to some organization or win some special merit or favoritism. No. There is no earning of God's Love. God's love is always unconditional. And it's powerful. It has the power to sustain. It has the power to heal. It has the power to forgive. And it is a power that Love gives you.

This is humbling. You are being given this gift without conditions. You are being given it not because you are better than anyone else. Nor because you are worse than anyone else. You are not more deserving or less deserving. You are not more able or less able. The Love of God is a gift. To you. Right here and right now. Yield to it. Accept it. It really is yours for the living. It really is yours for the giving.

Jesus said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

Imagine: you should love others as God loves - unconditionally. His love sees no evil versus good, no just versus unjust, no enemy versus friend. Neither should you. He sees only His perfect creation. So can you.

As it says in Genesis:

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."

Such are the eyes of Love with which God looks out upon His creation. Such are the eyes of Love with which God sees you. Such are the eyes with which God asks you to see your neighbor.

God's beautiful grace, His warmth and light are shining on you, through you, as you, right this moment. His refreshing rain is awakening you to see cleanly and clearly all that you - and everyone - are as His likeness. You are already Love's loving-in-action. This is your real state of being. Here and now. Accept it. Feel it. Act on it. Rejoice in it! There is grace to be lived and famished affections to be fed! Get busy!

Give us this day our daily gracefulness.
Give us unconditional Love today; feed ours and everyone's famished affections.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive those who we think are in debt to us.
And Love is always reflected in love.