Cut It Down

One of my favorite words is rather difficult to pronounce, therefore please allow me to just spell it for you: ISSUMAGIJOUTUNGNAINERMIK. It is an Eskimo word which means: "NOT BEING ABLE TO THINK ABOUT IT ANYMORE." In English, it simply means to forgive.
 
I like this story. In Charles Flood's book, Lee: The Last Years, he tells of a time after the Civil War when Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky woman who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her home. There she cried bitterly that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Union artillery fire. She waited for Lee to condemn the North or at least sympathize with her loss. Lee paused, and then said, “Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.” There comes a time when that is the only wise course of action: simply, “Cut it down, and forget it.” Just move on.
 
While here, let me state, QUIT WAITING ON THE OTHER PERSON TO APOLOGIZE.
Since I have been a pastor, I have had people lie to me, steal from me, say evil and untrue things about me and more. Do you know how many have come back to say that they are sorry for their evil deeds? I could probably count them on one hand. Few people have the needed courage or humility that it takes to say "I'm sorry" even when they know they are wrong.
 
Jesus didn't wait for an apology as He was dying on Calvary -- He took the lead: “FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.”
 
In our anger or pain, we may feel that we should withhold our forgiveness, until our injurer repents. But consider this question from another angle. Making our forgiveness dependent on another's repentance is not very helpful. It sets us up to be a victim, not just once, but twice! By making our forgiveness so dependent, we hand considerable power over our lives, to the one who injured us!
 
Some wise soul has observed: “Forgiveness releases us from the past, restores the present, and provides a bases for healing in the future.”

The Redeemed Team