Yes - except the video of theKnowles' Thanksgiving was, in fact, hilarious.
But what beautiful thought you shared ( as someone who wrestles daily to forgive my mother.) I've struggled not to view forgiveness as a pardon of her actions. But, indeed, I need to approach forgiveness specifically in spite of it.
Spencer, I just finished your book, "Light of the Mind, Light of the World," and I greatly enjoyed it. I must say you stretched my mind in new ways. Actually, I read it on the heels of Rod Dreher's "Living in Wonder," another excellent book. I highly recommend both.
A lot to unpack here. Forgiveness is usually not mine to give, just as condemnation is not mine to give, nor judgement on another’s soul. For wrongs done to me or mine, yes, I can forgive. I hope that I forgive and let go, but I’m Italian-Sicilian, and it is somewhat foreign to me. Cherishing a grudge is what is truly poisonous as it leads to contempt. This is far greater than dislike or even hatred. Contempt leads to disgust. When we find something disgusting, it is not enough to just forget about it; we must utterly destroy that which is disgusting and contemptible. However, forgiveness and letting go is the topic of the day.
In my former life as a physician, I would diagnose and offer treatment and advice (take your medicine, lose weight, exercise, quit smoking, etc). Sometimes my advice was listened to, sometimes not. I would try to educate my patients as to the risks of not adhering to a treatment plan, and if they decided not to follow, it was not up to me to hector them about their treatment. After all reasonable attempts to convince the patient who was not compliant, it was their decision, and it would be their consequences, although I ended up seeing several of these patients again when the next episode occurred. I had to and did let go, as I was powerless to do anything else. No matter how hard I tried (weight management, smoking cessation were always recommended, but seldom accomplished ) few would do what even they saw was correct for them.
What about friends or family members who are clearly on a wrong path? Someone mentioned Hunter Biden. Would letting go be the right decision for Hunter, if he was a family member, or enabling him with millions in illicit income in order to feed his addictions? Or would intervening be more appropriate. Clearly, a person with addictions could be argued to not be in his right mind. How about an anorexic? I’ve treated anorexic patients, (not for the anorexia, but related diseases) and the delusion is very deep seated. One cannot merely let it go, as this is often a fatal disease. There are times when you must step in, and others in which giving space and time is appropriate. Telling the difference between the two is the trick. A great scene in Lawrence of Arabia is one in which Lawrence extinguishes a candle flame by pinching it between his fingers. A friend tries it, and reacts when he is burned. The friend asks what the trick is, and Lawrence replies “the trick is not minding getting burnt”. When life is on the line, I don’t want to be burned, nor drive the person away.
I think the idea is to let go what they're doing to you, not what they're doing to themselves or others. My sister slapped me in the face for pointing out she only goes to work so she can dump her kid on our long suffering mother. I forgive her for that but I can't forgive her for prematurely taking away my son's granny. That's not mine to forgive.
Is it possible that when Jesus cried out from the cross and said "into thy hands(Father) I commend my "Spirit", that for the first time ever Jesus separated His Spirit from His Soul and then died and descended to hades before ascending after the third day? If He was separated for any length of time how great is His Love for us??
Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
When He "gave up the ghost" is when His Spirit left His flesh body, which is now dead.
Read more: Gen. 25:8, 25:17, 35:29; Acts 5:5, 12:23
Love this.
Yes - except the video of theKnowles' Thanksgiving was, in fact, hilarious.
But what beautiful thought you shared ( as someone who wrestles daily to forgive my mother.) I've struggled not to view forgiveness as a pardon of her actions. But, indeed, I need to approach forgiveness specifically in spite of it.
Spencer, I just finished your book, "Light of the Mind, Light of the World," and I greatly enjoyed it. I must say you stretched my mind in new ways. Actually, I read it on the heels of Rod Dreher's "Living in Wonder," another excellent book. I highly recommend both.
A lot to unpack here. Forgiveness is usually not mine to give, just as condemnation is not mine to give, nor judgement on another’s soul. For wrongs done to me or mine, yes, I can forgive. I hope that I forgive and let go, but I’m Italian-Sicilian, and it is somewhat foreign to me. Cherishing a grudge is what is truly poisonous as it leads to contempt. This is far greater than dislike or even hatred. Contempt leads to disgust. When we find something disgusting, it is not enough to just forget about it; we must utterly destroy that which is disgusting and contemptible. However, forgiveness and letting go is the topic of the day.
In my former life as a physician, I would diagnose and offer treatment and advice (take your medicine, lose weight, exercise, quit smoking, etc). Sometimes my advice was listened to, sometimes not. I would try to educate my patients as to the risks of not adhering to a treatment plan, and if they decided not to follow, it was not up to me to hector them about their treatment. After all reasonable attempts to convince the patient who was not compliant, it was their decision, and it would be their consequences, although I ended up seeing several of these patients again when the next episode occurred. I had to and did let go, as I was powerless to do anything else. No matter how hard I tried (weight management, smoking cessation were always recommended, but seldom accomplished ) few would do what even they saw was correct for them.
What about friends or family members who are clearly on a wrong path? Someone mentioned Hunter Biden. Would letting go be the right decision for Hunter, if he was a family member, or enabling him with millions in illicit income in order to feed his addictions? Or would intervening be more appropriate. Clearly, a person with addictions could be argued to not be in his right mind. How about an anorexic? I’ve treated anorexic patients, (not for the anorexia, but related diseases) and the delusion is very deep seated. One cannot merely let it go, as this is often a fatal disease. There are times when you must step in, and others in which giving space and time is appropriate. Telling the difference between the two is the trick. A great scene in Lawrence of Arabia is one in which Lawrence extinguishes a candle flame by pinching it between his fingers. A friend tries it, and reacts when he is burned. The friend asks what the trick is, and Lawrence replies “the trick is not minding getting burnt”. When life is on the line, I don’t want to be burned, nor drive the person away.
I think the idea is to let go what they're doing to you, not what they're doing to themselves or others. My sister slapped me in the face for pointing out she only goes to work so she can dump her kid on our long suffering mother. I forgive her for that but I can't forgive her for prematurely taking away my son's granny. That's not mine to forgive.
Hunter Biden would like this post.
Is it possible that when Jesus cried out from the cross and said "into thy hands(Father) I commend my "Spirit", that for the first time ever Jesus separated His Spirit from His Soul and then died and descended to hades before ascending after the third day? If He was separated for any length of time how great is His Love for us??
Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
When He "gave up the ghost" is when His Spirit left His flesh body, which is now dead.
Read more: Gen. 25:8, 25:17, 35:29; Acts 5:5, 12:23