Experiencing Forgiveness

One of the questions I ask myself when I am spending time with God reading the Bible and praying is: How will what I have read (in the Bible) change my life. Because reading and learning about God is not about how much I know in my mind but about how much I allow God to transform my life to a life more like Jesus'. Of course that applies when we sit in Church listening to a sermon as well. And with these past few sermons, how important it is to let God shape my life in regards to forgiveness. FORGIVENESS is important to God...as Dennis keeps saying...it's His idea.

So, I am reading Luke 7:36-50 (from Sunday's handout) and Dennis' third question prompted my "what needs to change in my life?"

3)"This Is a story about receiving forgiveness and Not a story about earning forgiveness...The Pharisee did not understand what a forgiven person looked or acted like..."

Well, I struggle with Pharisaical tendencies (thankfully not as much as in my youth) but I recognized the Pharisee in me with the thought of earning forgiveness...not my earning forgiveness from God...really don't have a problem with that...but- requiring people closest to me to earn my forgiveness. eeeewww, I don't say it like that out loud, but I hold them responsible for their offense until they prove they are sorry. So how is my life going to change because of what I have read/heard this week...I want to be more like Jesus...Forgive like He forgives(recognizing that this does NOT mean I have to sanction the wrong) -- Forgive First (remembering people are valuable), Ask Questions Later (with the purpose of restoring relationships), type forgiveness.

What's going to change in your life?