Today’s Verse—1 John 2:12
Dear children, I’m writing to you because your sins have been
forgiven. They have been forgiven because of what Jesus has done.
You’re standing in a crowded street. The excitement grows. Today you’ll test your running ability against a dozen stampeding bulls. You hear the first rocket. That means the corral gate has been opened. You run forward. The second rocket sounds. The bulls rush into the streets. You and the rest of the runners pick up speed.
With each step, you feel the danger. Others push ahead of you. You fall behind and can’t get your footing. The small herd of snorting bulls charges toward you . . .
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In some ways, the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, is similar to a person running from self-forgiveness. When people can’t forgive themselves, they take off running on the inside, but their guilt follows close behind, charging as if it were an angry bull.
Some people try to ignore their shame, but when they become weary of running, their unforgiving spirit can trample them. In the Odyssey episode “Welcome Home, Mr. Blackgaard” (album 26), Edwin Blackgaard thought the townspeople wouldn’t forgive him because of what his brother had done to Odyssey. When Edwin found that they had forgiven him, he couldn’t accept their kindness. Almost too late he realized that it wasn’t the town that wouldn’t forgive him. He hadn’t forgiven himself.
God wants us to confess our sins to Him, ask others for forgiveness, and forgive ourselves. We need to give even our shame and guilt into His care. The apostle John said, “Dear children, I’m writing to you because your sins have been forgiven. They have been forgiven because of what Jesus has done” (1 John 2:12).
Whit and Wisdom
Forgiveness starts with God and continues through us. Just as He has forgiven us, we need to forgive others. When Peter asked Jesus how many times we must forgive, he thought he was being generous with forgiving seven times. Then Jesus corrected him and said seven times seventy (Matthew 18:21–22). In other words, Jesus suggested a much greater, even more ridiculous, amount. No amount is too high when it comes to forgiveness. If God kept a tally of our sins and allowed only an exact number of times He would forgive us, we’d be in big trouble. But He offers us forgiveness whenever we sincerely ask. He expects us to do the same for others every time we’ve been wronged.
Once you forgive yourself, the final rockets—the third and fourth ones—can be fired. In Spain this means that the Pamplona race is over. The bulls are where they need to be, a winner is declared, and the runners are free to go home.
Family Challenge #7—Popcorn Forgiveness
Make some popcorn for your family and then gather them together. Find an unpopped kernel and compare it to a popped one. Show how large a single kernel can become. Consider how not forgiving others can explode into relationship problems. As you eat the popcorn with your family, talk about how great God’s gift of forgiveness is.
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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.