Two little Words

Good morning and welcome in. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

I have dealt with many high school students who nobody wanted to spend time with because of behavioral issues that the students had in their lives. With one such student I became a human punching bag for over a year. In him I saw the weaknesses of the human nature that we all deal with in this life.  One of his weaknesses was having a hard time controlling his anger.  I know that there have been many problems that I have had to undergo in my own life that God has been very helpful and forgiving with. I wanted to be there to help this young man through what he was dealing with.  

When he got angry or didn’t understand something it went right into his fists. His hands became like bolts of lightning. In the blink of an eye he would lash out at the very first thing he saw whether it was a student, or even a teacher, but most of the time it was me. When we walked down the hallway to go to our next class together, the students would fearfully part the way, standing on each side of the hallway as we walked by.  I was ordered that I could physically restrain him if I had to, because this is how much pent-up frustration he had.  

One of the first days that I was helping him he caught me with a left hook that I was unaware of. I hadn’t done anything wrong to him, it’s just that he was struggling inside.  Five minutes later he would walk up to me and simply say two words, I’m sorry.  I didn’t hold any bitterness in my heart against him for what he had done.  I simply forgave him as taught in scripture, and we moved on with our day. Later that afternoon it would happen all over again. This time he would scream in my face as he shoved me up against the wall.  After a while of cooling down I would hear those two words once again, I’m sorry.  

For many months it was the same routine over and over.  I might get a black eye or punch in the stomach.  I might come home with a loose tooth or something that was swollen but day by day after each of these events he would simply say those two words, I’m sorry, and I would completely forgive him and forget the event in my mind.

It took an entire school year but slowly the apologies started to disappear. They weren’t needed anymore because he was starting to have some really good days, and eventually got to the point where he was in control of his emotions.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

If I had never forgiven him each time he said those two little words to me, he never would have gotten to where he was a year later.

Matt 18:21-22  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

When somebody sins against you it doesn’t feel very good. We have to enter into suffering and pain caused by what somebody else has done to us. The carnal nature doesn’t want to make forgiveness easy to attain.  Because Jesus taught this principle to one of His Apostles at the very get-go, we know how forgiving our Lord Jesus is with each of us.

Forgiveness is one of the main foundations of the Christian faith. Forgiveness is what is taught throughout the entire New testament. Forgiveness is something that we each need to show each other in time of need.  It is forgiveness that keeps a family together. It is forgiveness that keeps the church intact. It is forgiveness that Jesus died for. Peter was learning about how forgiving we need to be with each other.  This was the lesson that the Lord taught me over a school year.  For many people it is very difficult to say I’m sorry for what you have done. It’s hard to say that you did the wrong thing and apologize. People don’t want to admit their faults because it puts them in a bad light. One thing I knew about this young man was that there was no pride in him at all when he simply said those two little words, I’m sorry.

One of the very first things we need to do if we are going to become a Christian is to be capable of telling God that we are sorry. Those two words are like a door that opens up into a room of forgiveness. Those two little words are like two little keys at the bank that open up a safe deposit box that is filled with grace. Each day at school when he said those two little words to me it was like sticking a key inside of my heart that unlocked mercy. To this day I can’t even remember how many times he apologized or how many times I completely forgave him but it was a lot. 

Every time I looked at this passage in the scriptures I realized there was great hope for me. When I read about the life of the Apostle Paul, I began to understand the width of God’s forgiveness. When I first read in the scriptures that Jesus had died on the cross for my sins, I knew that there was an opportunity for me to get forgiven. I was ready to shout those two little words from a mountaintop, so that God would open up my heart and completely wash my sins away. This is exactly what he did.  It wasn’t because I was good or upright or even perfect in his sight. It wasn’t because I had undergone a change first. It wasn’t because I had pleased him. He did it because He is merciful.

He wants us to learn to be merciful with others. He gives us the grace that we need in order to grow and to overcome all things. He doesn’t make it difficult or hard to obtain forgiveness. Like a dad who reaches out each time his child falls off their bicycle, God is right there to help us get back on and try it again.  That year I learned the two most amazing words in my life. I saw with my own eyes the power of what they can do in a person’s life. No matter how many times he wronged me, no matter how much hurt he caused me, every time he apologized I would think of this passage and realize how easy God makes forgiveness for us.

Can you imagine if everyone in the world treated each other this way? Can you imagine if everyone was this merciful? If you want to know what Mercy is, you will find it in Christ Jesus. it’s truly bigger than you could ever imagine. So when we think about how forgiving we need to be with others, remember what Jesus taught Peter. Inside my heart, I completely forgave my student each time he said those two little words…

……I’m Sorry

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

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