January 2, 2007

• Forgiven

  Pastor Hemphill preached, as he does often, on the unity of the brethren. This time, though, he specifically exhorted us to love more in the new year, expositing 1 Thessalonians 2 and 3, which culminates, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” Loving each other and loving “everyone else” is part of God’s design and our sanctification.

  On a related topic, Linda, posted a wonderful Tozer piece about forgiveness. It is tough, but it is good.

  Coincidently, I had turned to this poem in my A. A. Milne’s Now We Are Six last night. It is a child’s view of forgiveness. If only it was this easy all the time. Enjoy.

  Forgiven

  I found a little beetle, so that Beetle was his name,
  And I called him Alexander and he answered just the same.
  I put him in a match-box, and I kept him all the day…
  And Nanny let my beetle out—
  Yes, Nanny let my beetle out—
  She went and let my beetle out—
  And Beetle ran away.

  She said she didn’t mean it, and I never said she did.
  She said she wanted matches and she just took off the lid.
  She said that she was sorry, but it’s difficult to catch
  An excited sort of beetle you’ve mistaken for a match.

  She said that she was sorry, and I really mustn’t mind.
  As there’s lots and lots of beetles which she’s certain we could find,
  If we looked about the garden for the holes where beetles hid—
  And we’d get another match-box and write BEETLE on the lid.

  We went to all the places which a beetle might be near,
  And we made the sort of noises which a beetle likes to hear,
  And I saw a kind of something, and I gave a sort of shout:
  “A beetle-house and Alexander Beetle coming out!”

  It was Alexander Beetle I’m as certain as can be,
  And he had a sort of look as if he thought it must be Me,

  And he had a sort of look as if he thought he ought to say:
  “I’m very very sorry that I tried to run away.”

  And Nanny’s very sorry too for you-know-what-she-did,
  And she’s writing ALEXANDER very blackly on the lid.
  So Nan and Me are friends, because it’s difficult to catch
  An excited Alexander you’ve mistaken for a match.

  |||||| lynard

  • 8:40 pm
  • 4 Comments