Thanks to First Presby, Linda, for this reminder about International Forgiveness Day on August 5th (the first Sunday of August).
There are some great resources on this site for planning your own celebration, church services, family activities, and personal activities. Great idea!
At First Pres., we are dedicating our August 5th service to our mission trip of 15 who went to Pine Ridge, South Dakota in June! Here are some pics.
I think these two themes will go together very well.
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ReplyDelete...It's too late for this. I'm going to bed. :)
ReplyDeleteForgiveness is probably the single most "holy" thing there is, even if you're not a Christian. It feels good to be forgiven by someone you've wronged. It also, in the long run, feels good to forgive someone who's wronged you.
Question is, how far do we take it?
Can we really forgive those who laugh in our faces and then continue to wrong us? What does "seventy times seven" mean? Mathematical (doubtful) or another way of saying "every time" (most likely)?
Forgiveness is beautiful, and I salute those of you who are strong enough to do so. Because more and more I find it almost impossible to do so myself, especially when it comes to those who have commandeered our government and those that support them.
We forgive, they laugh and continue to wrong us. How far do we take it?
Good to see some Aboriginal content - the pics - awesome!
ReplyDeleteI like that idea of a day of forgiveness - it's such a great ideal and a great reason to celebrate. Forgiveness is so key to this faith that without it - this faith falls apart in every aspect. I'll celebrate it also - man you got some groovy ideas!
Thanks TN and Jason,
ReplyDeleteForgiveness is no piece of cake. I remember reading a book "Is Human Forgiveness Possible? The author talks about forgiveness not as something we can give but as something we discover. We can only forgive when we realize we do not have the power to forgive. It is ultimately a personal recognition that given the same set of circumstances we could have done the same thing. Ultimately, at least for that author, it is the recognition not at the intellectual level, but at the "heart" level that we are all human.