Today’s Verse—Luke 17:3
If your brother sins, tell him he is wrong.
Then if he turns away from his sins, forgive him.
Sam liked soccer, but he hated showers and scowled at soap. Soap was slippery, and shampoo stung his eyes. As seasons passed, Sam shamefully decided he was done suffering through showers. So he washed his face, strands of his hair, and his hands. Then he slipped into a new pair of socks. To others, he seemed clean.
This worked for some time. Then one day his soiled toes became slimy, and his socks stuck to his feet. Sam washed as usual, but this time he didn’t slip off his old socks. Instead, he slipped clean socks over his soiled ones.
The next day, the slime oozed through his second pair of socks. The second pair now stuck to Sam’s first set of socks, which stuck to his toes. So Sam slid another clean pair over the second pair. But by the seventh day of doing this, Sam struggled to shove his socked feet into his shoes. And once he did get his feet into his shoes, he let out a shriek of pain.
Sam’s parents saw what Sam was doing, so they cut off his slimy socks with scissors and sent him to the shower.
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Surprisingly, Sam’s seven socks and his shower struggles show something about forgiveness. When you fail to forgive someone, it’s as if you have slimy feet that you are covering with clean socks. Not forgiving soils your life and will eventually keep you from being cleansed from the stench of slime known as bitterness and anger.
In the Odyssey episode “Forgive Us as We Forgive” (album 17), Eric refused to forgive his father. His unwillingness soon hurt their relationship and Eric’s relationships with others in his family.
Wandering with Wooton
Imagine that Captain Absolutely is caught in the middle of a very slimy situation. He’s battling the Unforgiveness Monster that’s made of nothing but snails, slugs, sludge, and stinky stuff. His only way out is to cut the monster down to size. It’s the same way for us when we don’t forgive someone—we’re caught in a slimy mess of slithering stuff. The only way out is to be willing to forgive. The Captain’s motto should be: Forgiveness—It takes the slime out of life!
Luke 17:3 says, “If your brother sins, tell him he is wrong. Then if he turns away from his sins, forgive him.” Only forgiveness can release you from bitterness and anger.
Daily Challenge
Think of one thing you’ve done that you would like a do-over for—something you’ve done that’s hurt someone. Write it down on a sheet of paper and put it in a safe place. Whenever you don’t want to forgive someone, read the paper. Remember that you have the power to give someone else a do-over by forgiving him or her.
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Forgiveness Theme Memory Verse—Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive each other, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done.