Father, forgive them...and me

"I forgive you for doubting me. I forgive you for wishing the worst upon me. I forgive cause a man is not a man until he takes on God-like ways. I forgive but I will not forget." -50 Cent

There is no other way than the path to the Cross. I suppose you can try and run away from it, but it would lead you absolutely nowhere. I would rather climb the road to Calvary than to wander aimlessly for all eternity. Left with nowhere to go...I would define that as hell. Having no destination...no purpose...no home...no nothing.

Pick up your cross and follow Me.

Okay. I don't look for suffering but I accept what You have given me.

To be like Christ means to look up at that hill, not with fear, but with a resilience to be crucified upon it because we know that a greater good will come to us in the end. We don't seek the experience of the Cross but the sanctification that results from it.

When Jesus appeared to His disciples in His glorified body, He bore the wounds that would identify Him as the Crucified Christ.

This is who I am.

I, too, bear the marks, not on my body, but in my heart. Why? Because I also need to be reminded that it was these wounds that brought me closer to Him. Only then can I be grateful. Only then can I truly know who I really am.

I can't forget because to forget would mean to deny part of my life, a part of my own existence.

But I can forgive.

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

You forgive me all the time, so who am I to withhold mercy from those who have hurt me?

If we see each other through Your eyes, how beautiful our relationships would be.

"A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows that we have not really learned to love." (1 John 4:18)