Thursday, April 2, 2015

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, United States Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Thursday, 2 April 2015 - "The impression a forgiving spirit left"

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, United States Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Thursday, 2 April 2015 - "The impression a forgiving spirit left"
Daily Scripture: Luke 23:33-37, 44-47
Reflection Questions:
Only Luke recorded Jesus' amazing prayer, asking God to forgive the soldiers nailing him to the cross. The soldiers, more used to curses and screams of pain, went about their grim business. Still, Jesus' prayer, and his conduct during his hours on the cross, made an impact. The centurion in charge of the crucifixion had seen other convicts die, and he saw clearly how Jesus' purity and decency stood out.

Pastor Hamilton wrote, “More than any other world religion, Christianity teaches, preaches, veritably shouts forgiveness. Yes, some of our preachers dwell too long on guilt….a Christianity obsessed with guilt is no Christianity. Christianity is a faith whose central focus is not guilt, but grace, redemption, healing, forgiveness, and mercy” (Hamilton, Forgiveness, p. 17). How did Jesus' prayer set the model for all of us as his followers? In what ways have you been able to make forgiveness a transforming, freeing personal reality in your life?
In the 5th century, St. Augustine wrote about Jesus, “As he was once fixed to the cross in every part of his body for you, so he may now be fixed in every part of your soul.” Imagine yourself as one of the witnesses at the cross. In what ways does an inner sense of how Jesus gave himself for you on the cross “fix” him in every part of your life?

Today's Prayer:
Dear Jesus, you gave your all in order to forgive, accept and love me as your child. Help me to give my all every day as I live in gratitude for what you’ve done for me. Amen.

Insights from Janelle Gregory

Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as aHuman Resources Specialist.

I want you to like me.

I want you to think I’m smart, really funny, and infinitely wise. I want you to want to be around me and respect me. I want you to think I’m kind and generous, and I want you to think I’m beautiful.

There’s a part of me that has convinced myself that this perception is invariably 100% accurate (you’d agree, wouldn’t you?). I’d prefer to live in this idealized world than to face the fact that I’m not nearly as perfect as I’d hope to be. In fact, I’m not even close.

So I’ve built this smokescreen of perfection that allows me to function with a bit of confidence as I go about my life. Yet at any given time, the wind stirs up and the smoke rises to reveal my broken state. I am frightened of being exposed, to have my flaws uncovered. This vulnerabilityleaves me scrambling to continuously build up my walls with faulty beams of power and plates of pretty.

But I imagine that I’m not the only one. The proof would be social media where we display our mostly perfect lives, being seemingly happy, innocent people. I’ve yet to see an Instagram photo of someone crying behind closed doors. I don’t read Facebook updates from those who have looked with lustful eyes upon their best friend’s spouse. And somehow I’ve not seen a single Tweet from someone owning up to lying on their taxes. These may or may not apply to you, and I get that there are many times when we are really happy and trying to do our best to please God, but do you tend to portray your life in all its rawness with the good and the bad? Or do you, like me, prefer to keep a good portion of it hidden?

But this illustrious facade is actually a snare that entraps us from living in the fullness in which God desires for us. It holds us back from the greatest power of all – that of the power of forgiveness.

Because forgiveness isn’t for walls of greatness and masks of nobility. Forgiveness is for those crippled and cracked by the condition of being human – of being us.

I don’t know about you, but my soul is soaked in pride and glazed with insecurities. It has pockets of greed, anger, jealousy, and apathy. It’s bitter and breakable. It is selfish and scarred.

I hate that I’m like that. But if it weren’t for my flaws, I wouldn’t know what it means to truly be forgiven. I’d be robbed of the power of redemption. I would never know God’s merciful heart, most truly displayed in the death of our Savior. As Christ’s blood pours down the wooden beams, so does His compassion and restoration. His forgiveness flows over us, healing our hearts and sinking into our bleakest crevices. God’s mercy is not delicate nor wavering. No, it is potent and pure. It not only mends our wounds and transgressions, it invigorates and rejuvenates us. No longer will we be held down by our weaknesses and fears. Exposed as we are, we will live boldly, covered by his grace.

So bring to the cross your filth, your doubts, your addictions, and dark secrets. Bring your pettiness and pride, and lay them down for all to see. You don’t need to be afraid. Today you have the power at the foot of the cross – recognizing your brokenness, owning your flaws, lifting them high, knowing that you, His child, are truly and completely forgiven.