In order to be spiritually healthy the love of God has to flow freely within us. Sometimes that flow gets blocked by our propensity for unforgiveness. Sometimes we just need an unforgiveness cleanse.
Every once in awhile, I like to sit down with a pad of paper and record my unforgiveness status. First, I consider what patterns of sin I have fallen into and what I need to bring to the Father in confession. That’s why I need a pad of paper. The list is usually pretty long.
Then I turn to those whom I need to forgive. Sometimes at this point I need a whole new fresh pad. In this rough and tumble world it’s pretty easy to get bruised and hurt. Those kinds of bruises don’t just fade away with time. It seems they have to be specifically addressed.
I then turn to those who probably have reason to hold me in unforgiveness and who probably need some move toward reconciliation from me. This is the toughest list. It requires a humbling admission that I have been causing some bruises to others as I bump and grind through life. The tough part of this is to decide whether I need to just recognize what I have done or am doing and just stop, or whether I need to make contact and apologize and/or make correction.
We need to be careful here. There is a tendency to say “I need to apologize to this person.” When we really mean they need to apologize to me and I need to just give them the opportunity to see that I am hurt. This kind of plan never goes well. Trust me.
Once we get the plaque like unforgiveness out of our system, the love of God can restart the flow through us and, just maybe, we can become recognizable again as children of God.
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