Dear Friend: Forgiving Your Father

Thank you for giving me time to see you while I was in the area. I enjoyed my visit very much.

The last prophecy in the Old Testament is Malachi 4:5-6: “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” This was quoted in part by the angel Gabriel to John the Baptist’s father in Luke 1:17. Notice that verse 6 in Malachi has it both ways: “the hearts of the father to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” If this does not happen, the land will be struck with a curse.

It seems that you have not yet turned your heart to your father. It is for one of two reasons: you cannot or you will not. If it is the first, it is because you are not yet saved. You say that you are saved, so then it must be the second: You will not. That is scary!

Whatever happened several years ago, it was one of these two things: something done BY you or something done TO you.

If it was the first, God will and has forgiven you. If it was the second, you are not responsible. You are not guilty. However, if you will not forgive the other person, then you are very guilty.

You seem to agree with me that embarrassment, pride, and stubbornness were at least some of the reasons you have not forgiven. I think that you know I love you and that you cannot shock me. If you could shock me, you also know that it would not change my love for you.

It is not necessary to tell me what the problem was or is. However, if you do not tell me, you probably won't confess to God because it is a secret. As long as you hold on to this unforgiveness, you will multiply your future sins such as disobeying your parents. Read the lists of sins in Romans 1 and Timothy 3. These things go together.

You want to marry a godly man. He will want to marry a godly woman. That does not automatically happen. Read Psalms 32 and 51.

With love in Christ,

Jim Wilson

If you would like to know more about turning to the Father, please join us for the Practical Christianity class at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday at 114 S. Howard St. in Moscow. This week's subject is God the Father.

Comments

Ripe for Harvest: Prepared to Give an Answer

As you read through the book of Acts, look at every conversion, and see what happened right before it: what was said, who said it. The situations are the same today. A long time ago, my duty in the Officer’s Christian Fellowship was the east coast of the United States. I went to an officer’s office at Fort Lee, VA, and stayed overnight, then I went on to Norfolk and Fort Bragg. Forty years later, I was no longer on the staff of OCF, but I had to go to Denver. While I was in Denver, I checked in at the OCF offices. There was the same Air Force officer I had met in Fort Lee, retired now, a colonel. I had stayed in his house when he was a first lieutenant. He asked me, “Do you know what happened when you stayed overnight?” I said, “No, I just remember staying in your home.” He said, “You led the next-door neighbor to Christ.” I had no memory of it. Ten years after that, I was speaking at a banquet at the Hotel Salisbury, and who was th...

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a...

Marriage Counseling, Part 2

Dear Friend, This letter is long overdue. It has been in my head for months. First, I think you know that I both love you and like you and respect you. If you do not know that, please take my word for it. You know that I am willing to be confronted without dissimulation. In the many years we have known each other, I have assumed you were a Christian. I do not have to know absolutely (God knows those who are His). You have had an interest and an education in Christianity. Even if you were not, or are not, a Christian, this does not affect my love, like, or respect for you. The last few times we have been together, you have assured me that any adultery was in the past and that you were ready to get right with the church and with your family and that you had repented toward God. You assured me that you loved your wife and your children and you were committed to them. I recognize that Christians can (and sometimes do) sin repeatedly. I also understand that it is possible for Chri...

Roots by the River

Search This Blog