My free time has allowed me to catch up on my reading over the last few weeks. One of the most interesting books has been the The Devil in Pew Number 7 by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo. It is a true story of one man's assault on another man and his family. Alonzo shows her readers the devastating effects of jealousy, anger and selfishness when hatred goes unchecked. I will not give the story away, but trust me you need to read this book. The main lesson of this book is the amazing power of forgiveness. Alonzo calls forgiveness the language of heaven. Jesus wants us to be fluent in speaking forgiveness to one another. He wants forgiveness to be on the tip of our tongue. You and I have an obligation to forgive because we have been forgiven much. However, when we fail to forgive we can can go down a pathway of retaliation and rage that leads us to the pit of Hell.
Alonzo reminds us four truths when we do not show forgiveness to others...
- My sins will not be forgiven by God if I refuse to forgive who have sinned against me.
- I miss an opportunity to show God's love to an unforgiving world
- I'm the one who remains in jail when I withhold God's grace by failing to forgive
- If I am having trouble with forgiving it may be that I am angry with God, not at the person who wronged me.
I'm the keeper of the door of my heart. To love and forgive others as I've been loved and forgiven by Jesus, I have to guard what I allow to take root in my heart. If I open my heart to self pity, anger, grudges, and unforgivingness, I give the enemy of my soul and invitation into a very expensive home - a home purchased by the blood of Jesus. But as I become fluent in the language of heaven, as I open the door of my heart to Jesus and in His strength forgive others, that is when I am set free.
Let me encourage you to pick up Pew #7 and discover how forgiveness works even in the most difficult of situations.
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