Tuesday, April 21, 2015

How Deep is Your Love

“He who cannot forgive others
Destroys the bridge over which he himself must pass.”
-George Herbert
So growing up in Southern Delaware many people who did not grow up in the area often ask about the beach, and to their surprise I inform them that I don’t visit it very often. Not too big on the sand or the fact that I can’t see what’s in the water with me. But, whenever I go somewhere tropical, I am always fascinated by those who snorkel and scuba dive. There is a whole other world in the ocean to explore.
Did you know that most people who scuba dive can only go around 130 feet deep? That may sound deep however consider the ocean at its deepest is around 7 miles deep!
We often like to treat God and his love for us the same way as we do the water at the beach, splashing around on the surface. We don’t like to realize our sin never goes away unless we really dive into the love of God.
“(If you only had one month to live, what would you ask forgiveness for? From whom? Whom would you need to forgive?)”
Why do we need to forgive? Well…because Christ commands those who follow him to do so, if you follow Jesus, forgiveness is not an option. (Colossians 3:13) If we try to live without forging others we won’t survive, we just turn into bitter ungrateful people.
“(How have you experienced bitterness in your life?)”
We have to realize that bitterness often leads to anger and Ephesians 4:26-27 speaks of not letting the sun set while you are still angry because you can give the devil a foothold in your life for anger. Sometimes we get angry at God and some would say they don’t, but the great thing about God is he already knows about your anger, he can handle it.
Jesus prayed in Luke 23:34 “Father forgive them for they know not what they do,” this is where we get the power to forgive others. Jesus can take our sin, guilt, and shame and totally get rid of it, but only if we let him.
Portions quoted other than scripture came from "One Month to Live" by Pastor Kerry & Chris Shook, to buy click http://www.onemonthtolive.com/