Forgiveness...Only for the Worthy?

Tonight, during SHINE, I had a class full of four whole kiddos. Well, our number was small, but we still had a grand time. I did not post on Sunday because we did not have a SHINE meeting that night. As it was the fifth Sunday of the month, we had Question and Answer Night with Carl and the Board. (Though Carl answered most of the questions.) I came prepared with a few questions of my own, but was going to get some questions from the teens beforehand so they could ask their burning questions too. Well, no more than two kids came, so one of the girls and I sat up front to get in on the action. It turned out that we both had some of the same questions, so Carl explained a lot of the things we both wondered about. For example, I have been confused about Catholocism for a very long time. What was it exactly that made Catholic believers different than us? Well, I found out that a lot of it had to do with the hierarchy that we don't have and our beliefs about baptism are different. It was my first Q&A Night and I really enjoyed it. I only wish that we could skip the music and spend the whole time drilling the board with questions.

Anyway, tonight was fun. I wrote the lesson a week ago and it really seemed that it needed to be heard tonight. Most of the kids present, myself included, have recently struggled with or are currently struggling with forgiveness. It is very hard sometimes, for us humans to forgive eachother when we've been wronged. I started the lesson with a group activity. I split the kids into two groups. It ended up being boys vs girls (big surprise there) and I gave them an assignment. Each group had to come up with a skit about forgiveness. They could use whatever props they wanted and could do whatever scenerio they wanted as long as the point was forgiving someone. While they were preparing and practicing, I went outside to wrangle up an audience of younger kids for fun. We watched as the boys hit eachother with sporting equipment and apologized, then giggled as the girls acted out a robbery scenerio. One was a robber coming to steal the other's pinto beans...that she happened to be napping with. Somewhat confusing, but hilarious all the same. I like to start with something fun to capture attention. (Which is rather difficult to keep from teenagers, mind you.) We then learned that it is just as important for us to forgive eachother as it is to ask God for forgiveness of ourselves. For one thing, it is not our place to condemn, which often happens when we refuse to forgive someone.

*Deuteronomy 32:35*
"It is mine to avenge: I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them."

I used this verse to show that we need to leave the revenge to God. That it is not our place to judge what others do or do not deserve and He will take care of our issues in His way; not ours.

*Romans 12:19-21*
"Do not take revenge, my friends but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge: I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

We then read this verse to see exactly what we are supposed to do when we have trouble forgiving someone. I asked the kids if they would feed their enemy and they replied with, "Yea...with poison!" Needless to say, they didn't 100% agree with caring for their enemies, but who would really? Jesus would. And that's reason enough for us to as well.

*Matthew 6:14-15*
"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

And there, in Matthew it plainly states exactly why we need to forgive eachother. Not just for them, but for ourselves. And who isn't looking out for "Number One" anyway? As it is important for us to ask for forgiveness, it is also important that we give back that forgiveness to others. After all, in the eyes of God, hating someone is equivallent to murdering them. Let's not murder, people. It's not right and it's not cool.