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Whenever you choose to forgive somebody (no matter how you feel or what she deserves), you always get a whole lot more than you give.
“The importance [of forgiving] is not so much that it absolves the one forgiven as that it cleanses the one who forgives.” Lance Morrow
“Forgive (literally, give grace to) anyone who offends you. . . .” Colossians 3:13
The more I see gifts and talents as mine (or yours), the less I enjoy them. Seeing them as gracious loans instead frees me to delight (in mine and yours).
“Our gifts and talents . . . should be recognized for what they are, God’s loan to us, and should never be considered in any sense our own.” A. W. Tozer
“What do you have that you did not receive [as a gift]? And if you did receive it [as a gift], why do you boast. . . ?” 1 Corinthians 4:7
We all want to make a difference. Maybe it’s as simple as helping each other up.
“Two are better than one . . . for, if one falls, the other will lift him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
“A man . . . fell among robbers . . . and they left him half dead. . . . A Samaritan . . . saw him and felt compassion . . . and bandaged his wounds. . . .” Luke 10:30, 33-34
When you’re getting younger (more trusting and dependent and hopeful) on the inside every day, getting older on the outside matters less and less.
“[Y]outh and joy come from the soul to the body more than from the body to the soul.” James Freeman Clarke
“Those who look expectantly to the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar. . . .” Isaiah 40:31
Why not decide right now to spend today looking for things to be thankful for? There’s nothing to lose, and by tonight we’d know how much there is to gain.
“The unthankful heart . . . discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” Henry Ward Beecher
“I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart (today).” Psalm 111:1 (parenthetical added)
If you choose to be gruff and ungracious to somebody today because you don’t like him, you’ll probably like him even less by tomorrow. If you choose to show him small kindnesses instead, chances are you’ll soon like him (and yourself) a lot more.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways. . . .” Isaiah 55:9
Father, help me to live Your higher ways today, choice by choice.
