don't be left holding the bag

Monday April 24th, John 20: 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." We are sent as disciples into the world, as were the first disciples, to bring the message of forgiveness. Sometimes we are not so good at that. Sometimes we want revenge and control. Sometimes we want to label others as mean, unreasonable, less-than or part of an axis of evil. Those are all our attempts to regain control back from God and to be our own gods. It has been going on ever since that tree in the garden thing. It may feel good at the time, but we are always the losers for it. If we forgive, they are forgiven, and that is a powerful tool of healing. If we do not forgive, they are not forgiven, at least by us, and that is a corrosive and death dealing burden we carry. The sad thing is that the person we do not forgive, may not even know or care, we are the ones who are diminished for it.