Doug, a servant of the Lord, through whom we have received grace, to the church and congregation of God’s people on the web: The grace of the Lord I give to you. The blessings of God, which showers all of us equally, may it revive you and those who cause you suffering.
I praise our Creator for the bounty of gifts he has bestowed upon you; for you are rich in his love. His supreme gift, that all-forgiving love which transcends all bounds, washes over each of us without let or reduction. It is this love, given without thought of recompense or condition, that nourishes us, like an endless stream giving up its water to the ocean. Our shortcomings are met with understanding and forgiveness, freely given.
Have we not been taught, through sacred writings, to forgive one another in similar fashion? It has been written that you should “love one another, as they want to be loved.” I say unto you: “Love unconditionally, with all your heart and with all your soul.” Like love, our Lord spreads forgiveness openly and fully. What better role model so we have than our Lord’s own giving? I am greatly pleased to find each of you wanting to live your lives modeled on the Almighty.
Why, then, do you hesitate to forgive yourselves? What dark motive have you for withholding love and forgiveness to one of our blessed Lord's creatures? Is your denial of self-forgiveness an attempt at belittling yourself due to some low self-image or is it to show to the world that you are somehow better than everyone else because you can live with the suffering associated with the withholding of forgiveness?
While it is our Lord’s wish that we be servants to our fellow man, helping and offering aid in any manner available, crippling ourselves with self-hatred or with the shackles of suffering interferes with our ability to serve.
It is easier to love others when we feel loved. When we feel God’s love, we find the love within to love ourselves. This empowers us to find the love to share with others. So it is with forgiveness. It is easier to forgive others when we can forgive ourselves.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to the gospel and the preaching of the word of God, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations to the command of the eternal God, to the wise God be glory for evermore. Amen.