Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse,...
Holding a grudge doesn't make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn't make you weak; it sets you free.
So what are we inviting ourselves and others into? For those who’ve been out for a while, what are we inviting them back to? ...When we can step out of our institutional concerns, reconnecting with the essence of our faith, we remember the Way of life to which Jesus...
It's funny, isn't it? You can preach a judgmental and vengeful and angry God and nobody will mind. But you start preaching a God that is too accepting, too loving, too forgiving, too merciful, too kind...and you are in trouble.
Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn--and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.