Caught!
STEP 3
“We learned to see purpose in our suffering, that our failed lives were under God’s control, who is able to bring good out of trouble.”
I have gone to church for as long as I can remember. My mother carried my sister and me to church every Sunday. Daddy joined us later and accepted Christ. I received Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was eight-years-old. A dear lady who lived beside us took me under her wing. She would put me on a stool and I would sing solos in the church. People said I had a talent for singing and that I was so cute.
Forgiveness
Our teacher told every member of our class to bring a clear plastic bag to class along with a sack of potatoes. For every person we had refused to forgive in our life experience, we were told to choose a potato, write on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag. Some of our bags, as you can imagine, were quite heavy.
We were then told to carry this bag with us everywhere for one week, putting it beside our bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to our desk at work,
The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a weight we were carrying spiritually when we refused to forgive, and how we had to pay attention to that weight all the time so as not to forget it and to keep from leaving it in embarrassing places.
Naturally the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty slime. This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain.
Too often we think of forgiveness as something we do to benefit the other person, but, as our assignment demonstrated, forgiveness is something that clearly benefits us.
So the next time you find yourself tempted to say, “I can’t, I won’t forgive them,” ask yourself, “Isn’t MY bag heavy enough?”
-- Gary Y., Salem IN
Cross Quotes
FROM TIM WILKINS
Tim Wilkins is a man who has struggled with homosexuality and now works diligently to lead others to the freedom Christ died that His people might enjoy. You can read about his ministry at his web address: www.crossministry.org.
The following are quotes from Tim that we thought many of your might find enlightening.
“Few things anger people more than uttering a logical thought.”
“I love homosexuals now more than when I was one!”
“Though I am ashamed of my past homosexuality, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“I will believe in moral relativism when compasses point any direction other than north.”
“Truth has taken a backseat to tolerance because many people cannot tolerate truth.”
“The dictionary is the only place where change comes before obedience.”
“A grace that forgives us of sin but does not free us from sin is a grace not worth having.”
“To claim the Bible approves homosexuality is equivalent to claiming that Tolstoy’s War and Peace is a musical comedy.”
[CROSSexaminer (2005) 9.1, p. 2]
God's Handwriting
He writes with characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife—But there, with larger, clear sight,
We shall see this—His way was right.
by John Oxenham
This is a grand little poem that teaches us, in other words, the truths behind step three. Read it over carefully and try to understand all that the author is saying.
Then re-read Robert P.’s story again and, as a way of grasping step three for yourself, write how the poem and the step are illustrated there.
