Snyder, George L Snyder, Lenore Snyder, God, ethics, morals, religion
The Elephant Speaks
One Man’s Elephant book II
Forgiveness
God put His message into my heart and said,
“Carry it to My people.
I found I could not and asked God, “Why am I not able to do Your work?”
God answered:
“Until you follow Me, you cannot do My work.
I asked, “I try to follow Your will. . .?”
God answered:
“First you must forgive.
So, here I am. Unable to do what I believe I must. I know what is needed first,
but so far, I am unable. I keep trying and failing.
The elephant is like a wall.
Is that same elephant blocking your path?
Is there someone you have found it impossible to forgive?
Have you found it impossible to forgive yourself?
Is it worth your soul to carry this to your grave?
How do you forgive?
Is it necessary to forgive before going on to other work?
I think maybe it is. I believe that the forgiving of
those who you perceive have harmed you is most important.
Shouldn’t I just accept that those who harm are also children
of God? Shouldn’t I just accept that those who harm are
also loved by God? Shouldn’t I just accept that those who
do what I perceive as evil are also children of God, loved by
God?
On one side of my family I had great-uncles who
hated each other. Brothers who hated each other just
because they voted for a different political party. What a
waste. What a loss. What a tragedy.
On the other side of my family I had great-aunts who
would not speak to each other. Sisters who hated each other
due to some perceived slight or insult. I don’t think they
even remembered what caused the separation. What a
waste. What a loss. What a tragedy.
And, God speaks to me:
“If you will not speak to one I love, your
attempts to speak to Me are wasted. Forgive them.
Forgive that one I love, your family, your neighbor,
your enemy. Go! Speak to the ones I love, your
family, your neighbor, your enemy. Ask for
forgiveness, then come to Me.
Who do you not speak to?
What can I say?
I’m sorry.
I am so sorry we have had this separation.
Please forgive me.
I know we should have resolved this long ago.
We need to get back together.
Life is too short to keep this up.
Do not imply in any way that it is their fault. If you
feel it is their fault, then you still have not forgiven. You
have not forgiven if you start with, “I forgive you.” You
have not forgiven if you think they have to apologize. You
have not forgiven until you accept the fault, the blame, the
responsibility for keeping the separation going.
First, you must forgive. If you have really forgiven,
you do not need or want an apology. You can accept that it
is you who has offended. Ask them for forgiveness. If you
have forgiven, then you accept the responsibility. If you
have forgiven, then you can approach your friend, your
family, your enemy. If you have forgiven, then and only
then can you gain forgiveness.
In order to forgive, you have to relinquish the sin of
pride. You have to sacrifice the pleasures of the sin of
pride.
In separating yourself from others, you separate yourself from God.
In separating yourself from others, you separate yourself from heaven.
Help me to accept the differences that separate us.
The ability to forgive unconditionally is one of the
areas where I fall short of my ideals. Perhaps my greatest
failing.
Is it worth your soul to carry this to your grave?
All you can think of is how you will get even. When
something bad happens to them you gain only a small,
bitter, fleeting satisfaction. It is never enough. You can
never get even. You always want more evil to fall upon the
one you hate. You become angry with God for allowing
good to happen to this one you see as evil. To this one you
hate. You see good as evil and evil as good. You are even
willing to condemn yourself to Hell to further your hate.
Your hate comes between you and God. Your hate is more
important to you than God. Your hate clouds your view so
seriously that you cannot even see God. Your hate clouds
your view so seriously that you cannot even think about
God. If you bring yourself to pray, it is a prayer for evil. It
is a prayer not to God, but to Satan. You claim it is to God,
but it is to Satan. In addition to destroying your spiritual
health, your hate even affects your physical health. Your
hate consumes anything about you that may have ever been
good.
But the elephant is great.
God is great. God forgives your
hate. All you have to do is forgive,
then - - - - - -
Forgiveness is your soul
Forgiveness brings you joy
Forgiveness induces you to good
Forgiveness brings you happiness
Forgiveness always serves you well
Forgiveness moves you closer to God
Forgiveness keeps peace in your heart
Forgiveness brings you into Gods embrace
It is your choice to forgive or to continue your
surrender to the lure of hate. It is your choice to love. You
cannot love if you cannot forgive. You do not love if you
do not forgive. Don’t choose to wallow in your anger.
Forgiveness is a great weapon
Nelson Mandela
If you think your inability to forgive is not hate, then
what is the opposite of forgiveness? What is the opposite of
love? You have some feelings in your heart for this other
person. What are they? Are they forgiveness or are they
hate? You are the only one who can judge you. Be a harsh
judge. Look at yourself closely. Then do what is needed.
You have the choice, to forgive or to continue to hate. You
have the choice to continue building your hell or to begin
building your heaven.
Now when you gain the strength to forgive, you
must forgive unconditionally. God forgives unconditionally
and so must you. Yes, it is very, very hard to do. It is hard
for me to do. And, I know I must.
“ - - and forgive us - - as we forgive - - ”
If I do not forgive, am I asking God to not forgive - - me?
And God speaks to me:
“Forgive! I forgive. You must forgive.
One day the granddaughter of a man I am proud to
call a friend, went to class at the college she attended. A
shooter came in. She was one of the victims. My friend
only spoke of forgiveness. His face was filled with grief
and the shock of the tragedy, but in his heart he knew that he
could only hold forgiveness without corrupting his own
heart. He knew that only by forgiving could he ever find
peace. He knew that only by following the example of
Jesus, could he retain his own soul.
When there was the killing of Amish girls in Nickel
Mines, Pennsylvania, the grandfather of one of the girls
said, “We must not think evil of this man.”
Another Amish man spoke of forgiving. He spoke
of reaching out with empathy not only to those who suffered
the loss, but also to the family of the man who committed
‘those acts.’
There is a story of a man, who before dying in one
of the most horrible means devised by mankind, forgave
those who nailed him in place. Is there any greater test of
your faith than to follow Jesus’ teachings? Than to follow
His example?
Has anyone done something worse to you? Ever? Forgive!
Try it! You’ll like it. It is easier if you choose to
forgive something small. Once you do that, you can
progress to more difficult things. I find it easy to forgive
small things. It is still hard to forgive big things. When you
forgive, there is this heavy load that you no longer carry on
your back. There is a feeling of relief. There is a feeling of
peace. You cannot have peace if you have not yet forgiven.
But when you do forgive, you gain the benefits of forgiving.
Forgiving brings great rewards.
God loves all His creation. God even loves you.
God loves you and forgives you even if you do not forgive.
But by not forgiving, you are refusing your own relationship
with God.
God is also embracing the one you have not
forgiven. If they are in God’s arms and you move away
from them, you are moving away from God.
When you forgive you will find peace. When you
forgive you will find joy. When you forgive you will not
stay awake at night thinking those evil thoughts about that
other person. When you forgive you will find happiness.
When you forgive you will find God. If you have not yet
forgiven, you have not yet found God.
God is forgiveness. If God is embraced by my soul,
I cannot but forgive. Do not let the sin of pride interfere
with you appreciating one of the aspects of God.
Forgiveness
read Matthew 5,21-24
The Elephant Speaks
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