“Our readiness to forgive will draw others to ourselves in that we will be known as a safe place to fail.”

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 1741). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

What a great thing to be, a safe place to fail. I have within me the perfectionism of a melancholic. That is where God has been working on me all of my life in my relationships. The success of dealing with it started with me failing and needed His forgiveness. I think it has helped to make me a safe place to fail.

Are you hard on people? Are you quick to be hurt by them and then holding a grudge, never forgiving them? Then you are a very lonely person. Then you are not a safe person to be around because none of us are perfect, we all fail.

Have you ever been forgiven? How did it make you feel toward the person who forgave you? I mean you hurt them and they forgave you. For one it freed them from the act of you hurting them. They were free of the pain and the possible bitterness that they could have had, that they had a right to have but they gave that up by their forgiving you. That freed them from your act and made them a safe place for you and others to fail. So that made you feel safe with them.

Have you ever forgiven someone who hurt you? How did that make you feel even if they didn’t handle it well? Some people have such pride so they won’t acknowledge that they did anything wrong. They are not a safe person to be around. But you are because you weren’t tied to their action or their response. You freed them to be who they were. The truth is because they didn’t acknowledge their actions then they are probably a miserable person to be around. And you probably will be hurt by them again. As I said they are not safe to be around. But you are because you forgave them.

Listen, none of us are perfect. Jesus was and He was killed but He also said when He was dying on the cross, “Father forgiven them for they know not what they did.” He is a safe person to be around because He has forgiven us of the sins that we have done that helped to kill Him. Just acknowledge your sins to Him and ask Him to forgive you and He will. You then will be ready to forgive others because you are forgiven and you will then be known as a safe place to fail.

So are you a safe place to fail?

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