forgiving

Following a Bible reading plan, if even for like 3 days, has definitely been really rewarding with a thousand different lessons.

I was thinking how much of a dangerous weapon forgiveness is. No enemy can stand up against forgiveness - because though anger and revenge can fight against each other, no fury can face forgiveness and still stand - it has nothing to feed on. Wars may be fought when both sides are participating, but when one side nobly forgives the other and refuses to fight, there is no longer any war to be fought, only reconciliation to be made. That's why forgiveness is dangerous - because though it may take some courage and some divine inspiration to commit to, it has the power to destroy any enemy's hate and weapons of war.

Reading Leviticus 10, there is a short story about how two of Aaron's sons disobeyed God and offered something that the Lord did not command. They were destroyed by fire. I think I often forget this side of God, because I just like to read the New Testament whenever I have time, but never really wanted to read the Old Testament because of its reputation for being dry. But reading this story has told me about how I need to remember that God is a just God, and He has wrath. It seems to me like a story of how man and God are at war: the unjust against the righteous.

Another testament to God's justice is in Psalms 10. Though it talks about how the wicked's "ways are always prosperous," (v.5) it also details a cry out to God for Him to defend "the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more" (v.18). Again, it is about a war between God and the wicked man, of how men have taken over the earth with their sinful nature and have begun to terrorize one another... where does God's justice come into play?

So after all this, who is wicked and who is not? It's not up to us to judge. To me, the most righteous of men can sometimes be seen as wicked, because my eyes are so skewed and I am such a partial judge. Thankfully though, for everyone out there:

"Because the judge of you is someone I could never be,
Is why you should thank the Lord that it is Him and it’s not me.
Don’t give up; it’s not the end.
There’s hope for every fallen man,
To pick themselves up when they think they can
Because with every passing second comes a second chance."
- "Fallen Man," Relient K

He judges, yet he forgives. God won the war against man. He was first to forgive. There is no longer any more sticks and stones, no bullets, no missiles that we can fire at God. There is no longer any war to be fought, only reconciliation to be made. Second chances, that's what our life is all about.