Jesus said many things that were puzzling and contrary to popular beliefs and traditional behaviors. Even today some of the words of Jesus seem hard to follow and difficult to apply to our "normal" way of life. Some of these "difficult sayings encompass such topics as forgiving others, obtaining wealth, and achieving perfection.
Two general ideas His sayings stress center around the importance of loving God more than loving one's family and putting the kingdom of heaven above earthly concerns.
Although we looked at forgiveness briefly a few weeks ago, we will discuss it in more depth this Sabbath. Be ready to discuss such ideas as 1) what does Jesus mean when He implies that God will forgive us on the same basis as we forgive others (Matthew 6: 14, 15) and 2) how far must we go in forgiving those who commit heinous crimes against us or out loved ones.
1 comment:
Hard, Hard, Hard!!
For most things/people in life I can forgive and know that I truly hold no grudge. No ill will, nothing held back. It's all cool now.
Then there are folks I forgive but I don't let them near me anymore because I don't want the negatives that come with that person. Does forgiveness mean I have to like everybody? Nah,,,, just love everybody! Seems we need to define love.
Then there are a few folks (well one) whom I'm glad he died. I guess that's way beyond not liking , , , Hmmmm.
There are a bunch of the psalms where David is asking not only that his enemies die but that god would help David kill them. Hmmmm and David was a man after God's own heart. Of course Jesus said love your enemies. So is it okay can you love someone as you kill them??? Sounds pretty sick but just asking??
Wish I was there to participate with the lesson. Thanks for posting ahead Dan.
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