Forgive and Give

You have the power within you to set yourself free. Are you forgiving and giving?

February’s Awakening, Day 25

To err is human, to forgive, divine.

 —Alexander Pope  

Love truth, but pardon error.

 —Voltaire 

Two works of mercy set a man free: forgive and you will be forgiven, and give and you will receive.

 —Augustine of Hippo 

Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:37c–38 NIV 

            Freedom is a most wonderful thing—but it is never free. To gain freedom means that you must release from yourself everything that binds you and holds you captive. Laying your sin down at the Cross is the first step, followed by equally forgiving others just as you’ve been forgiven. Harboring ill will towards another is just another form of self-imprisonment. Cease it, release it, and you’ll re-piece together your life. Giving freely of yourself in time, talents, and resources will also bring a high level of gratification and tranquility into your life. To forgive and give are powerful forces that you control, and just as you sow, so shall you reap. To gain you must give, to be forgiven you must forgive—that’s the wonder and power of God’s economy—and in God’s economy, forgiving and giving will always win.