Sunday, March 23, 2014

Forgiveness, Transcending Your Hurt Humanity

“To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
― Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744)
INCIDENT investigation is something I have become a past master at; to strip apart an event, ascertain and acknowledge with others all of the facts, and identify everything that didn’t go according to plan, including those things we didn’t foresee. Part of the whole process is to get away from a blame culture; to err is human. We err in so many ways.
In regards to the unsavoury things of life in – yes, relational things, where conflict abounds – we are granted our emotions. God gave us emotions for a very good reason; in order to discern intelligently. But too much emotion lacks intelligence due to our fallen nature; to err is human.
Whenever we propagate thought of being human, when it comes to the emotions, we inevitably arrive at fatigue. It is unsustainable. Human emotions will run us up upon the dry land of tiredness.
We reach the end of ourselves which is where God might finally begin.
Eventually the Lord is heard to say in that still, small voice: “Have you had enough yet? Do you want to try another, better way?”
Much of our humanity is sick of the limits of our humanity. We hate being flawed, and even if we thought we were not flawed we still have to bear thought for what others think about us.
Transcending our humanity we focus on thinking as God would think.
We are able to transcend our erring nature if we are prepared to surrender in order to align with the divine; the divine way. What have we to lose? Our independence? The truth is our independence has cost us so much already, when dependence on God may only cost us our independence, and gain for us the eternal peace of a sustainable way.
To err is human, to forgive, divine.
Within divinity is power in and through us in the name of God, for the glory of God. It is power in and through them also, for God could not abide in giving power partially. There is no partiality in God, and so if there is to be any blessing for us, there must be blessing for others, too.
To be in relationship with God is the perfect opportunity to transcend, even occasionally, our erring humanity; to trust God enough to be empowered to forgive. The key is, and always will be, surrender.
When we realise our independence of humanity takes us down dark roads, erring roads, we can sense another burgeoning opportunity: to go with full abandon toward the Lord our God; our Creator, who knows our broken beings better than anyone. We need God if life is to work.
***
To err is human,
To forgive, divine,
When we surrender,
With God we align.
© 2014 S. J. Wickham.

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