Forgiveness and freedom
Liberating forgiveness
What is there left to forgive in ourselves or those around us, in order to be free?
If we are still attached to our past, it is because we have not forgiven. We think we forgive, but we do not forgive. Deep down in our guts, we do not forgive. I think we must really realise that forgiveness is of paramount importance if we want to be free, for we cannot serve God unless we are free!
I think it is time, it is important to realize that there is no supremacy among us, there is only a divine osmosis. You know, Christ said: “I am the vine and you are the branches. A branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.” Our faith must therefore be built on love for one another, not just from time to time. This kind of Love must be experienced all the time, and if you do, your life will change.
You spoke of freedom a while ago, but we don't need to ever wait for anyone’s death or life to be free, because the first word of Christ’s teachings is: “I have come to free you.” If we are still attached to our past, it is because we have not forgiven. We think we forgive, but we do not forgive. Deep down in our guts we do not forgive. I think we must really realise that forgiveness is of paramount importance if we want to be free, for we can only serve God if we are free!
Has anyone ever been forced to join IVI? I'm asking you the question, do you know of anyone? No! This means that they come on their own initiative, sometimes brought by others, that’s another matter, but their membership, their ‘yes’ when they enter a group, they're the ones saying it, no one does it for them. That is freedom, and if they want to leave, they can. Sure it may hurt those who love them, but they have the right to leave. But if we love them, if we had truly loved them, nobody would ever leave. We must realize how badly we love, and we thought we were loving!
Our agreement with God is not merely words. You know, if baptism was enough to become Christian, then there would be one and a half billion Christians, but do they perform their duty towards God? That is the question.
It is exactly what happened with the Jews at the time of Christ. They were all Jews, and they had the Word of God, they all knew exactly what had to be done. They had the Talmud and the Torah, they had their laws, and what did they do? From the moment that they had to put into practice what God was asking of them, they did not, and the wars started. There were invasions for thousands of years, I mean long before Christ. Today we find ourselves facing the same basic problems.
If you came this morning, it was not to talk about trivial matters; it was so you could review your faith to God, in total freedom, for every circumstance. We cannot serve God while we remain chained in one way or another....Our “yes” to God must really mean “yes” and our love must be total.