Forgiven

I am very much a visual learner. In nursing school, I had to picture things and have silly ways & acronyms to remember everything. We have been studying the book of Ephesians this year at Precepts bible study. Ephesians is one of my favorite books of the bible and where the "life verse" we pray and claim for William comes from.

This past week, we learned more about forgiveness. In Ephesians 4:32, Paul tells the body of Christ, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." We are not asked to forgive if we feel like it, we are commanded to forgive. In my life, I have not had many circumstances where I could not forgive someone. I am aware of how much I have been forgiven, so, thus far, it comes easy for me to forgive others. In my heart I know that I am forgiven, but many times my mind struggles to understand God's abundant grace and mercy for me. I am so thankful that God's love for me, far surpasses my knowledge and understanding of Him.

Our co-teacher gave a wonderful visual illustration of God's forgiveness.

This is very elementary, but bear with me. If you hold a globe in your hand and place your finger on the equator and start tracing your finger toward the north, you will eventually hit the North Pole and start heading south. But, if you place your finger on the equator and trace it toward the east, you will always be heading east.

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us. "

Psalm 103:11-12