“Forgiveness unlocks gratitude and gratitude unleashes love.”

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 1691). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

I asked Jesus to come personally into my life at 5. To be honest, there weren’t a lot of sins for me to confess at 5 so I didn’t for a lot of years appreciate what forgiveness was all about. But in my thirty’s I went through what I call my jerk time. It was basically a time of total self-centeredness and it eventually brought me to a time of resigning my staff position at a large church. I then started selling pizzas and started falling in love again with my family and with God. At that point I found out what forgiveness was all about. My gratefulness and my love took on a total new dimension.

God brought a very godly pastor into my life at that time who led me back to a life of wholeness and healing. God forgave me and Margaret forgave me and those relationships took on a total different meaning in my life. I live each day with deep gratitude and love because of their forgiveness.

How about you? Have you experienced a time of forgiveness and found that it had unlocked within you a new dimension of gratitude and love? If you haven’t and you are experiencing brokenness and hardness toward God and someone else maybe forgiveness is where you start. Maybe you need to just humble yourself and be honest and ask forgiveness from God for your sin and ask for forgiveness of that person who you hurt. “Forgiveness unlocks gratitude and gratitude unleashes love.”

That was where it started for me. I asked both God and Margaret to forgive me. God forgave me in an instant but it took some time for Margaret. I had really hurt her. I haven't deserved the years of standing before people each Sunday and sharing God's love and direction for their lives and for the extraordinary and exciting years with Margaret, my wife. I live each day with such gratitude for their love and forgiveness.

So maybe that is where you too should start?

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