“Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing. Let the whole world know that today is a day of reckoning. Let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong, roll the stone away, let the guilty pay…it’s Independence Day” (Martina McBride)I bet you read the title and thought this post was about the 4th of July. As not to disappoint, I have something special planned for the 4th. You will have to check back for that tribute to our men and women in the military. Today’s post has more to do with setting something else free….you!
There is a quote in the book “Wild at Heart” that says “Forgiveness is setting the prisoner free and realizing that the prisoner was you”. For some unknown reason, when I read that quote it hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe it had to do with the list of people that it was time for accounting to. Immediately in my mind were the names of those that needed a phone call, email or face to face chat. I needed an “independence day” to not only set them free…but in doing so…set this prisoner free.
Thanks to the Grace we have been shown by our Lord and Savior, the formula for forgiveness is no further away than your Bible. Over and over again, Christ led by example. In one of his final statements on that fateful day, the words “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 34) showed us the way. Of all the times, of all the people to ask for forgiveness, Christ called out to forgive those who had hurt him. Makes our “issues” seem small in comparison doesn’t it?
So how about you? It doesn’t need to be the 4th of July to declare your own “Independence day”. Give it a try. Forgive someone you feel you need to and watch as your own prisoner is set free. The feeling will be better than any fireworks display or parade you will attend. Let today be that “day of reckoning”.
