It is a psychological truism that hurting people hurt people. Knowing this helps us to understand others when they hurt us. To understand, however, is not to condone. Wrong behavior must never be accepted.
In order to forgive those who hurt us, it helps to understand why they hurt us. Usually, the hurt inflicted upon us has nothing to do with us but everything to do with the person who hurt us. The one who hurts others usually acts out of his own pain and takes out his pain on someone else.
Of course, this is sick behavior. But understanding motives is essential in the forgiveness process.
As Jesus hung on the Cross, He prayed, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing." The same is true of us. We can forgive those who hurt us by realizing that they really did not know what they were doing. If they did, they would never have hurt us.
If one who hurts another truly understood that he was hurting himself far more, he would never hurt anyone. In his warped thinking, he believes he is gaining a benefit from hurting another person. But this is a lie that will one day backfire on the one who hurts someone else. As Scripture promises, we will reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7).
If you have been deeply hurt by someone--and all of us have--choose today to forgive that person. Forgiving the one who hurt you will set you free. Remember this: you are a prisoner to the extent that you do not forgive others. As long as you do not forgive, you remain chained to the one who hurt you. But when you forgive the one who hurt you, you are set free.
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Copyright 2014 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, DMin, MFA. All rights reserved.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Faith Does Not Make Sense
For the last two hundred years or so, the western world has made an idol of human reason. Reason has become the yardstick for measuring truth. If something cannot be supported by reason, then it is dismissed as foolish, ridiculous, or even stupid.
This exaltation of reason has prevented thousands upon thousands from experiencing the power of faith. Faith does not contradict reason; faith supersedes reason.
Perhaps I can best explain it like this. Here on earth we are subject to the Law of Gravity. But there is another law that supersedes the Law of Gravity. It is called the Law of Lift. The Law of Lift is what enables an airplane to supersede the Law of Gravity in order to fly.
Reason is like the Law of Gravity. It keeps us grounded in the natural. Faith, however, is like the Law of Lift. It allows us to rise above reason and to enter the realm of the supernatural.
Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God. A person enters the Kingdom by faith and lives in the Kingdom by faith. To the human mind, faith does not make sense because faith has nothing to do with the senses. Faith has everything to do with the spirit. But unless the spirit is regenerated through union with Jesus Christ, the spirit will never understand faith.
Scripture tells us that "faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see" (Hebrews 11:1). Do you need assurance about things you cannot see? Do you want to have the confidence that what you are hoping for will actually happen?
Then place your faith in the only One Who can honor your faith: Jesus the Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world.
_______________________________________________________
Copyright 2014 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA. All Rights Reserved.
This exaltation of reason has prevented thousands upon thousands from experiencing the power of faith. Faith does not contradict reason; faith supersedes reason.
Perhaps I can best explain it like this. Here on earth we are subject to the Law of Gravity. But there is another law that supersedes the Law of Gravity. It is called the Law of Lift. The Law of Lift is what enables an airplane to supersede the Law of Gravity in order to fly.
Reason is like the Law of Gravity. It keeps us grounded in the natural. Faith, however, is like the Law of Lift. It allows us to rise above reason and to enter the realm of the supernatural.
Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God. A person enters the Kingdom by faith and lives in the Kingdom by faith. To the human mind, faith does not make sense because faith has nothing to do with the senses. Faith has everything to do with the spirit. But unless the spirit is regenerated through union with Jesus Christ, the spirit will never understand faith.
Scripture tells us that "faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see" (Hebrews 11:1). Do you need assurance about things you cannot see? Do you want to have the confidence that what you are hoping for will actually happen?
Then place your faith in the only One Who can honor your faith: Jesus the Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world.
_______________________________________________________
Copyright 2014 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA. All Rights Reserved.
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