Good morning! I hope this devotional comes to you today after having had a wonderful spring break. J Our writer for today is the one and only John Mark Day! John Mark is the Director of the First Year Experience here at TCU, and many of you probably know him specifically through his work with Frog Camp. John Mark has a unique ability to connect with students, and has a demonstrated talent for empowering them to be strong and effective leaders. In addition to his deep love for TCU, he also has a deep and abiding love for God, and I’m so thankful that he agreed to share a little of that love with us all today. I trust you’ll appreciate both his humor and his insight in his words for us this morning.
Blessings, Todd
March 18, 2014 By: John Mark Day
Colossians 3:12-13
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against each other, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Forgiveness is one of my favorite virtues, so long as someone else is doing the forgiving. Every day I rely on the forgiveness and grace of God and of those around me because every day I find new ways of putting that forgiveness to the test.
But when it’s my turn to forgive, it’s a virtue much easier said than done. Forgiving those who have hurt me means giving up my right to the grudge, relinquishing control, and trusting in the God who has forgiven me. Sometimes I can’t do that. Sometimes I just don’t want to.
Over and over, Jesus calls on his followers to forgive – in parables (Matthew 18:35), the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:4), even as he hangs on the cross (Luke 23:34). So as hard as it is, I try to forgive. If I want to be like Christ, if I want to honor his sacrifice, I must forgive others as I have been forgiven.
The sacrifice celebrated in the Lenten season culminates in our forgiveness. And because we have been forgiven, we forgive.
Lord, thank you for the forgiveness offered to me through the sacrifice of your son. As you have forgiven me, help me to forgive others, extending to them the grace that I rely on every day.
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