The last few weeks, I’ve heard a number of people talk about guilt and shame. They’ve discussed their tendency to blame themselves for all sorts of things and carry large burdens of guilt. Some folks trace this tendency to the family in which they were raised. Others attribute it to the church in which they were raised.
Certainly, our families and our churches impact us in profound ways. Yet, I know people from loving and accepting families and grace-based churches who also struggle with guilt and forgiveness. I think it’s part of being human. Accepting the appropriate level of responsibility is a continual challenge. Either we accept no responsibility or we accept too much responsibility. Either we blame ourselves for nothing or we blame ourselves for everything. It seems that the people I know tend to hold onto guilt and struggle with forgiveness. I’m convinced that accepting God’s forgiveness is one of the hardest spiritual disciplines.
“At issue is whether there is more mercy in God than sin in us. And according to Paul, just as love is stronger than death, so forgiveness is stronger than sin.” (William Slone Coffin.)
To help us remember the depth of God’s love and compassion, I’m thinking of writing “forgiven” on every mirror in the church. I wonder…if we truly trust God’s forgiveness…what difference that would make in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
We are loved. We are forgiven. Praise God!
(Written by Rev. Joan Sulser.)
Certainly, our families and our churches impact us in profound ways. Yet, I know people from loving and accepting families and grace-based churches who also struggle with guilt and forgiveness. I think it’s part of being human. Accepting the appropriate level of responsibility is a continual challenge. Either we accept no responsibility or we accept too much responsibility. Either we blame ourselves for nothing or we blame ourselves for everything. It seems that the people I know tend to hold onto guilt and struggle with forgiveness. I’m convinced that accepting God’s forgiveness is one of the hardest spiritual disciplines.
“At issue is whether there is more mercy in God than sin in us. And according to Paul, just as love is stronger than death, so forgiveness is stronger than sin.” (William Slone Coffin.)
To help us remember the depth of God’s love and compassion, I’m thinking of writing “forgiven” on every mirror in the church. I wonder…if we truly trust God’s forgiveness…what difference that would make in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
We are loved. We are forgiven. Praise God!
(Written by Rev. Joan Sulser.)
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