"What's so Amazing About Grace?"

I have been reading that book by Philip Yancey. Some of the things hit me pretty hard, so I decided that I am going to share them...

"Why should I make the first move? I was the one wronged. So I make no move, and cracks in the relationship appear, then widen. In time, a chasm yawns open that seems impossible to cross. I feel sad, but seldom do I accept the blame. Instead, I justify myself and point out the small gestures I made toward reconciliation. I keep a mental accounting of those attempts so as to defend myself if I am ever blamed for the rift. I flee from the risk of grace to the security of ungrace."

"I never find forgiveness easy, and rarely do I find it completely satisfying. Nagging injustices remain, and the wounds still cause pain. I have to approach God again and again, yeilding to him the residue of what I thought I had committed to him long ago."

"Forgive" shows up in 121 verses in Today's New International Version and 140 in the New Living Translation. It's not a suggestion. But it is something that I have found extremely difficult. I have trouble forgiving the way I was treated by my friends in high school and forgiving myself for the way I acted toward them. It's almost impossible for me to forgive my grandfather. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. To me, what's so amazing about grace is that not only is it freely given to me by God, but I'm called to give it just as freely to everyone in my life. Whoa dang.

"...forgive us our sins,as we forgive those who sin against us..."