Learning to forgive ourselves

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

Forgiving our debtors helps us learn how to accept forgiveness for ourselves, how to truly repent -- re-think about who we are and what we do and how we live and interact with others.

And this acceptance of forgiveness demands humility. Divine Love, God, humbles us to learn to love unconditionally, like He does. His Love is a "law of annihilation" to every hate and fear that makes us believe in separation - separation from Him, as well as separation from our "debtors."

Think about the two great commandments that Jesus spoke of:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."

In this particular passage Jesus also answered the question of who your neighbor is by giving us the parable of the Good Samaritan: it is anyone in need of your help.

Is it too much of a stretch to think that Jesus would have approved the idea that your "neighbor" is also anyone who is even in your debt?

Could we also then pray "thou shalt love thy debtor as thyself?"

The parable of the Good Samaritan would suggest the answer to that question is YES.

Jesus' parable urges us to go out of our way to be a blessing to everyone we encounter, to those who need us, need God's Love to be made real for them by us being His - Divine Love's - action and example.

And the spiritual sense of this verse is not "Love is reflected in like" - it is "Love is reflected in love," in full-on all-embracing completely giving LOVE.

Divine Love forgives us our debts as we forgive - love - those we think are somehow in debt to us.

Forgiving is always reflected in forgiveness because Love is always reflected in love.