Forgive!

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by: Gene Ziesel

08/07/2025

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How are you doing? No, really, how are you doing? I was reminded this morning of the model prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6:12. It’s there we read: “12 and forgive us our debts,  as we also have forgiven our debtors.” 
It’s difficult to honestly start your day when you carry the hurt done to you that has not been forgiven. Let me share a story about a daughter who taught her mother a lesson about forgiveness.
“Mama! How do you spell ‘Louis’?” the little girl asked her mother as she ran into the kitchen.
“Louis? Who’s Louis?” asked the mother.
“You know,” said the five-year-old. “He’s the boy who gave me my black eye.”
For several days, the mother had asked herself how one child could be so mean to another child. Anger sizzled inside her every time she saw the black and blue mark around her daughter's bright, hazel eye. Slamming the oven door closed as if it were the person in question, she said, “Why on earth do you want to know how to spell his name—especially after what he did to you?”
The daughter’s reply reminded the mother of why Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.”
“W-e-l-l, at church yesterday, Miss Mae told us we should make paper chains for All Saints Day. She suggested making a ring every time someone does a nice thing, as Jesus did, and then putting the person’s name on the ring. Louis told me on the bus today that he was sorry he hit me in my eye, and that was nice. I want to put his name on this ring and make it part of the chain, so we can pray for him so he won’t do it again.”
As her mother stood in the middle of the kitchen with her hands on her hips, the words of a recent sermon came back to convict her: “Forgiveness, no matter how long it takes or how difficult it is to attain, is the only path to healing and freedom.”
Upon reflection, the mother thought her daughter’s bruised eyelid looked just a little better.
Today, as we begin our day, let’s seek to make sure that we are free from all unforgiveness in our lives. Let’s remember how much God has forgiven us!
Ephesians 4:32—32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 
Doing my best to forgive,
Gene
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How are you doing? No, really, how are you doing? I was reminded this morning of the model prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6:12. It’s there we read: “12 and forgive us our debts,  as we also have forgiven our debtors.” 
It’s difficult to honestly start your day when you carry the hurt done to you that has not been forgiven. Let me share a story about a daughter who taught her mother a lesson about forgiveness.
“Mama! How do you spell ‘Louis’?” the little girl asked her mother as she ran into the kitchen.
“Louis? Who’s Louis?” asked the mother.
“You know,” said the five-year-old. “He’s the boy who gave me my black eye.”
For several days, the mother had asked herself how one child could be so mean to another child. Anger sizzled inside her every time she saw the black and blue mark around her daughter's bright, hazel eye. Slamming the oven door closed as if it were the person in question, she said, “Why on earth do you want to know how to spell his name—especially after what he did to you?”
The daughter’s reply reminded the mother of why Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.”
“W-e-l-l, at church yesterday, Miss Mae told us we should make paper chains for All Saints Day. She suggested making a ring every time someone does a nice thing, as Jesus did, and then putting the person’s name on the ring. Louis told me on the bus today that he was sorry he hit me in my eye, and that was nice. I want to put his name on this ring and make it part of the chain, so we can pray for him so he won’t do it again.”
As her mother stood in the middle of the kitchen with her hands on her hips, the words of a recent sermon came back to convict her: “Forgiveness, no matter how long it takes or how difficult it is to attain, is the only path to healing and freedom.”
Upon reflection, the mother thought her daughter’s bruised eyelid looked just a little better.
Today, as we begin our day, let’s seek to make sure that we are free from all unforgiveness in our lives. Let’s remember how much God has forgiven us!
Ephesians 4:32—32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 
Doing my best to forgive,
Gene
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