wmanion
08-27-2007, 11:53 PM
Hi all,
One thing that I have struggled with for several years is the concept of walking in forgiveness. This was true especially, when I use to hear all the hate that the churches were spewing in the name of love against the GLBT community. Although, I walked away from the church and never looked back, I never walked away from my belief that love was the only answer. However, to truly love, one must be able to forgive. I guess what was meant by “Love thy enemies,” was to love them to the point of forgiveness. When conflicts arose in my life, it was to easy to bear a grudge and not have to deal with the individuals that I did not like or that I did not care to hear the things they had to say. Unfortunately, by holding on to the grudges, I found myself in a place of avoidance. I would avoid the conflicts (people and issues) instead of standing my ground on what I knew to be true to in my heart. The gay man who recently was denied a funeral by the church only stirred memories of my family and the pain they endured when the pastor came and said he did not know my cousin was gay and had he known he would have refused to do the funeral but since he had all ready committed himself he would do it, but it would be short for there was nothing good to say about my cousin. At this point, my love was challenged. How could I honestly love and forgive this preacher for the hurt and judgment that he had inflicted. Honestly, for a long time I couldn’t forgive which I know hindered my ability to love. I finally had to come to terms with the fact that I had to forgive if I wanted to retain the love that I wanted in my life. I struggled with this because I thought that if I forgave, it would be like saying, I was wrong and the way the preacher felt was correct. Then I realized that forgiveness has nothing to do with who is right and who is wrong…forgiveness has to do with love. If you really love and that love is manifested in your life then forgiveness is not a question or an option, it becomes a natural part of that love. I want to walk in forgiveness and to do that I must walk in love. It is not easy all the time. In fact, sometimes it is a real struggle; however, I believe it was this desire to walk in forgiveness that led me to Soulforce. I do not have to compromise my beliefs that I am loved no matter what the “religious” say. I do not have to be silent in my opposition to inequality. I do not have to live by anyone else’s standards for love to manifest itself in my life. Yet, I need to stand my ground as I walk in forgiveness.
Bill
One thing that I have struggled with for several years is the concept of walking in forgiveness. This was true especially, when I use to hear all the hate that the churches were spewing in the name of love against the GLBT community. Although, I walked away from the church and never looked back, I never walked away from my belief that love was the only answer. However, to truly love, one must be able to forgive. I guess what was meant by “Love thy enemies,” was to love them to the point of forgiveness. When conflicts arose in my life, it was to easy to bear a grudge and not have to deal with the individuals that I did not like or that I did not care to hear the things they had to say. Unfortunately, by holding on to the grudges, I found myself in a place of avoidance. I would avoid the conflicts (people and issues) instead of standing my ground on what I knew to be true to in my heart. The gay man who recently was denied a funeral by the church only stirred memories of my family and the pain they endured when the pastor came and said he did not know my cousin was gay and had he known he would have refused to do the funeral but since he had all ready committed himself he would do it, but it would be short for there was nothing good to say about my cousin. At this point, my love was challenged. How could I honestly love and forgive this preacher for the hurt and judgment that he had inflicted. Honestly, for a long time I couldn’t forgive which I know hindered my ability to love. I finally had to come to terms with the fact that I had to forgive if I wanted to retain the love that I wanted in my life. I struggled with this because I thought that if I forgave, it would be like saying, I was wrong and the way the preacher felt was correct. Then I realized that forgiveness has nothing to do with who is right and who is wrong…forgiveness has to do with love. If you really love and that love is manifested in your life then forgiveness is not a question or an option, it becomes a natural part of that love. I want to walk in forgiveness and to do that I must walk in love. It is not easy all the time. In fact, sometimes it is a real struggle; however, I believe it was this desire to walk in forgiveness that led me to Soulforce. I do not have to compromise my beliefs that I am loved no matter what the “religious” say. I do not have to be silent in my opposition to inequality. I do not have to live by anyone else’s standards for love to manifest itself in my life. Yet, I need to stand my ground as I walk in forgiveness.
Bill