I was shaking with self-righteous furry as I looked at the text thread. Did he really just say that? How could a grown man put those words together in a text message and hit send? A string of insults and expletives filled my mind as the tears formed around my lashes. I took a shaky breath and responded with more kindness that I wanted, but less than he deserved.

The messages we send and the words that we use come not just from our heads but from our hearts as well. This text exchange was not a standalone experience—it occurred in the middle of a painful time where rather than forgive, I distanced myself. Rather than seek to understand the pain of another, I claimed a sanctimonious justification for my own thoughts, words, and actions. I daily dug my defense deeper rather than lifting up the hurting soul of a loved one.

When a relationship is fractured, frequently one or both of the people in the relationship have been hurting before the fracture appears. Sin claims advantage over the pain, takes root in our hearts, and seeks to destroy relationships. The fracture in a relationship can be both the result of the pain and the source of it.

We aren’t responsible for healing the pain or sins of others, but we are asked to love others through their mistakes. We are instructed to forgive. Only by seeking to see the other as the Lord sees them and striving to love the other as the Lord loves them, can reconciliation be found.

We are asked to forgive, and then forgive again, and again, and again. And it is hard. It is supernaturally hard. We can’t do it without the grace of God. Forgiveness does not mean a return of the relationship to its prior state, but rather it is a restoration in the ability to love. Who is in need of your forgiveness and your love? Cover them with love and prayers today and let the Lord take care of the healing of hearts.

[bctt tweet="We can’t do it without the grace of God. // @MaryRuthHackett" username="blessedisshe__"]

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