Lent and forgiveness are synonymous. Jesus died for our sins so we'd be forgiven. So during Lent should we not work on forgiving people and especially those who are hardest to forgive? I have found forgiveness is the longest road to walk. I always want to be forgiven for my own inadequacies and failures but, to forgive those who have hurt me is painful and unfathomable at times. An example being hurts from my childhood. Day to day I don't think of these but my life is shadow'd by the hardness my father displayed from his own painful past. I'm not certain I'd ever considered forgiving him until recently.
In Matthew 6:14-15 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.
In prayer I will ask for a forgiving heart to forgive my own Dad and to open my heart to the good that was in him. In forgiving him and looking at the positive I hope this will reproduce forgiveness in my own home and life.
Lord, today I ask you to please help me on the road to forgiving others for what I perceive as transgressions against me. I pray for a forgiving heart in myself and my family today and always. Help me to see the positive in people that may not have a shiny exterior. Forgive me for my own inadequacies and lead me on the path to rightousness.
Amen
