Matthew 6
There comes a quiet hour in every life, a still, unrelenting moment when the noise falls away, and we are forced to look into the mirror of our own souls and ask:
Was the wound truly that deep, or did we simply nurse the scar until it became our armor?
If those that “hurt” us breath were to cease before the rising of the sun, what frayed threads would we leave untied? What heavy, unspoken words would die upon our tongue, haunting us for a lifetime?
Did we love them enough to let it go? Did we speak it into the world until they felt it, or did we let the silence swallow it whole?
How effortlessly we cling to the thorns that tear us. We harbor anger like treasure, guarding grievances that a single, tender word could have dissolved. We let pride build high, jagged walls between ourselves and the ones who once held our hearts, choosing the cold victory of being right over the warm grace of being reconciled. We forget that the souls who walk with us, the ones who held our secrets, who were our safe harbor in the storm, are rare, fragile blessings. We are not guaranteed their tomorrow.
I know this darkness, for I too once fell victim to my own grudges in life. Allowing pride to sit upon a throne built of old pain. But I’ve since learned the true definition of forgiveness. If a soul once brought light to my life, if the thought of their loss would leave a hollow ache in my chest; then my pride has no place here. I am undone, yes. I am a work in progress, still reaching, still growing through the cracks of who I used to be.
Because in the quietest depths of self-reflection, a terrifying question remains:
If God were to measure His grace to us by the exact measure we mete out to others... where would we stand?
Did He not command us to forgive? Matthew 6:14-15 clearly instructs: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
If that truth shakes the ground beneath your feet... then perhaps it is time, at last, to lay the heavy burden down. Perhaps it is time to change.
