Key Scripture Matthew 5.9

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  

Relevance

I had a weird thought this morning.

I've only published one book, Finding Myself Inside. I released it as a paperback and e-book but followed up with the audiobook. Infrequently, I listen to different chapters of it as I walk—particular chapters of special interest at the time.  

As I’m still on crutches, I hobble around the neighbourhood, doing short walks to maintain some level of cardio health. But I can tell you, it's nothing like a brisk walk. This morning, I thought I would go over Chapter 31, Forgiveness Heals.

As I listened to the story of my ex-sister-in-law coming back to the Lord, I got to where somebody said, “If it was real repentance that she had, she should apologise to you personally as well as to God.”

I replied at the time that she didn’t need to make peace with me before she died but with God. And if she's done that, I am more than happy and thankful that she will spend eternity in Heaven.

Now, I know the Bible says a lot more about repentance, and for that matter, so does Chapter 31. But I started thinking about her apologising to me, and this is where the weird part comes in.

Although she didn’t apologise to me in this life, I imagined her apologising to me in Heaven and what that might seem like—not that I needed it. My thoughts ran on to her apologising to me in Heaven and what that would look like. I know it’s strange to think, but that’s what popped up. I wondered what she would say and how she would say it—AND my response.

For a few seconds, I imagined her delivering a lengthy apology because, in Heaven, if it happened, her heart would suggest she do so. Being a typical Aussie, the only reply I thought I might render was, “No worries. It's all good!”

My imagined response might seem a little silly and perhaps brief, considering the length of her apology, but what would I gain by saying anything else? 

I know it’s all thoughts; nothing like that would transpire because Heaven doesn’t have sorrow, and all apologies come from sorrow. But it got me thinking of how fruitless it is to harbour grudges on this earth and hold on to hurts and pains when we have in our power the ability to release people and ourselves from that burden. 

Bitterness and emotional hurts can be very damaging, and the longer we hold onto them, the more chronically damaged we become. This affects our personality and character to the point that we find it difficult to see through problems clearly because the prism of that lens is warped. 

I also imagined what Heaven would look like if we all apologised to those we'd hurt. By the time I’d made my way around the concrete path, I had concluded that the only way to go was to follow God's advice about dumping, shedding, and throwing off bitterness and memories as dirty garments, whether people apologise to us or not. 

As I wrote in my book, Heather and I were better off immediately turning all that stuff over to God. We felt it better to suffer loss than live a life filled with the toxicity of revenge and hatred that permeates our hearts like some odourless, poisonous gas.

Ultimately, our only losses were things of this life, not the next, and could be replaced or forgotten about. As a trade-off, we found a storehouse full of the richness of peace in forgiveness. Regarding my sister-in-law, I am just excited that I'll see her in Heaven.

If you have problems with forgiveness, Chapter 31 is a good chapter to go through and underline.

Regarding the pain and awkwardness of saying sorry, Jesus is the only way forward, and it's best done in this life.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I know my little fantasy was not real. But I still discovered a worthy takeaway. It emphasised many of your scriptures that say not to carry burdens. Praise you for the accuracy and impact of your Word. 

Photo by Toa Heftiba