Vision 2022: Forgiveness

This last Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from one of our elders, Jim Traut. Jim spoke to us from the Scriptures about forgiveness. Doing forgiveness well is like heart maintenance — it’s like keeping air in the tires of your bike or changing the oil in your car. Fortunately for us, the Scriptures are full of wisdom on how to do maintenance on our hearts and sustain the joy that is promised to us, even when the road gets bumpy. According to Jesus, how well we exercise forgiveness is directly related to how well we function in our relationships, our marriages, our church family, and ultimately in the kingdom of heaven. Unforgiveness can hold you hostage, but stepping into obedience and choosing to forgive with a heart of compassion, sets us free! We get our joy back, our strength back. We look to Jesus as the ultimate example of forgiveness lived out. And it is only when we gaze upon Jesus as our perfect gift from the Father, and receive Him, that we are able to extend forgiveness to others. This is how the kingdom will break out in our town, and earth will begin to look more like heaven.