Day 46 “Never love the things made by man more than the things made by God.”

Day 46

Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

Forgiveness of others for infractions against us, or debts to us, is an absolute must for a Godly life. It is almost as if we must all come to a place of being able to forgive anyone, of anything, at any given time. The thought of this is no doubt challenging for all of us, for some more than others, yet nonetheless it is asked of all of us.

A few years ago, the Lord used a very difficult situation to truly challenge and change me. For years, I had worked and saved in order to have a heavy-duty diesel pickup. With the Lord’s help, I was able to find a very nice truck at a price I could afford. On several occasions different people have asked to borrow my truck, and when possible I have allowed it. However on nearly every occasion my truck was returned with a new dent, or scratch, maybe something broken, and of course an empty fuel tank. It seemed that no one really cared that I was doing them a favor, they acted is if I owed them something, my frustration mounted with each occasion. As time went by my anger became more and more aroused, try as I might, I could not ignore the voice inside of me–you know, the one from God–the voice of reason and love? The Lord spoke very clearly to me that I was to forgive my brothers, even if they didn’t ask for it, or acknowledge a need for forgiveness. The Lord reminded me of myself and my need for forgiveness from Him, even when I didn’t deserve it. He spoke clearly to me of my need, even when I wasn’t aware of it, and how He never gave up on me.

I learned a valuable lesson or two that day, the biggest one being that people are always more valuable to God than things. You see, people are made by God, and people cannot make people–only God can. All too often we place greater value upon the things that people make; things that God places absolutely no value upon.

Therefore, when God asks us to forgive our debtors as He has forgiven us, it just might be a good idea to take that a little more seriously.

Daily Prayer: Father, I pray that you give me the patience and the perseverance to love Your people more than I love the things of this world. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

“Never love the things made by man more than the things made by God.”

Pastor Gene Burroughs, Servant