Beautiful, Courageous You

Tag Archives: Timothy Keller


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To Forgive THEM… Feels like death!

forgiveness

Recently, I implored a good friend of mine to forgive someone that had wronged her, betrayed her and still continues to stomp on her heart. Furiously she responded ‘that would feel like death to forgive him’!

Ahh yes to offer forgiveness upon our enemies would appear to be weak, backing down and death to our soul. In my experience it is this death that leads to a beautiful resurrection, my Bible assures me that in the Kingdom of God ‘to lose our life is to gain it’! How do we gain life? Extend forgiveness to our enemies.

Forgiveness will bring healing to your body and your broken heart, do your part and truly forgive them and God will do His part to help you heal from the emotional pain that has held you captive to the past. Like me, you may forgive a person but still have ill feeling towards him or her, the truth is you cannot truly forgive without the Holy Spirit’s help, no amount of self-determination or strong will can achieve complete love and forgiveness.

Our human nature is to be led by our feelings, some of my well-meaning friends retort, ‘be strong, don’t let him get away with that… it’s a dog eat dog world’, even at the mention of forgiveness! I readily admit that forgiveness is unfair. However, if we do not forgive we will become resentful, The word resentment literally means ‘to feel again’, as Philip Yancey, author of  What’s So Amazing About Grace, succinctly put it: “… resentment clings to the past, relives it over and over, picks each fresh scab so that the wound never heals”.

Despite what the world says, a strong courageous woman is a forgiving woman. Granting forgiveness doesn’t feel natural, but if we do not transcend nature, we remain in bondage to the past, held captive to the people we cannot forgive. Author and Pastor, Timothy Keller refers to the act of forgiveness , as feeling like a death initially but it is a death that leads to resurrection “Forgiveness must be granted before it can be felt, but it does come eventually. It leads to a new peace, a resurrection”. Although a most unnatural act, forgiveness offers a way out and as you choose to forgive, I assure you, faith will carry you beyond your feelings and by His spirit, God will give you the courage and strength to forgive your enemies, wish them well and let them go their way.

Who do you need to forgive? Release your grip on them today and you will be set free to soar high above the circumstances which have held you back for so long now. x


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Son of God, isn’t that far-fetched?

portrait-of-jesus

I recently read the book The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. Loved it. Definitely one to place on the ‘must read’ list ;-). In particular I was captivated by a passage where Keller cited an interview with U2’s Bono and Michaka Assayas:

Assayas: Christ has his rank among the world’s great thinkers. But Son of God, isn’t that far-fetched?

Bono: “No, it’s not far=fetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook.

Christ says, No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me a teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: “I’m the Messiah.” I’m saying:”I am God incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can take. You’re a bit eccentric. We’ve had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don’t mention the “M” word! Because, you know, we’re gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no, I know you’re expecting me to come back with an army and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he’s gonna keep saying this.

So what you’re left with is either Christ was who He said He was — the Messiah — or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson…I’m not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that’s far-fetched…”

Selah