Larry Lilly’s Letter 7-26-12
My book, Outrageous Forgiveness In 30 Days as the title suggests deals with outrageous acts committed against you. Most of the stories are gruesome and show how some folks were able to forgive. The Nickel Mine Murders and the forgiveness of the Amish to the murderer is beyond my pale. When asked why I used such outrageous stories I shared a statement from C.S. Lewis:
"If we really want to learn how to forgive, perhaps we had better start with something easier than the Gestapo."
If others can actually forgive the Gestapo, (Corrie ten Boom) then I must forgive those who trespass against me in lesser things. Most of us do not have trespasses against us at the Gestapo level.
Hardly a day goes by but that I hear from the person or a friend about the giving of outrageous forgiveness. Just the other day a man called me and talked through tears about a person who had come by his home and forgave him.
What he had done 45 years ago was horrible and he knew it and lived with the searing memory of his actions. He had never had the courage to ask for forgiveness, but it had been freely offered and he accepted it and was totally overwhelmed by this gift from the person he had hurt so badly.
1 John 2:12 "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake."
Copyright (C) 2012 Larry Lilly
"Forgiving does not erase a bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for hope for our future." Lewis B. Smedes. For help with past bitter memories click Outrageous Forgiveness In 30 Days to see if my latest book may help you. LML
My book, Outrageous Forgiveness In 30 Days as the title suggests deals with outrageous acts committed against you. Most of the stories are gruesome and show how some folks were able to forgive. The Nickel Mine Murders and the forgiveness of the Amish to the murderer is beyond my pale. When asked why I used such outrageous stories I shared a statement from C.S. Lewis:
"If we really want to learn how to forgive, perhaps we had better start with something easier than the Gestapo."
If others can actually forgive the Gestapo, (Corrie ten Boom) then I must forgive those who trespass against me in lesser things. Most of us do not have trespasses against us at the Gestapo level.
Hardly a day goes by but that I hear from the person or a friend about the giving of outrageous forgiveness. Just the other day a man called me and talked through tears about a person who had come by his home and forgave him.
What he had done 45 years ago was horrible and he knew it and lived with the searing memory of his actions. He had never had the courage to ask for forgiveness, but it had been freely offered and he accepted it and was totally overwhelmed by this gift from the person he had hurt so badly.
1 John 2:12 "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake."
Copyright (C) 2012 Larry Lilly
"Forgiving does not erase a bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for hope for our future." Lewis B. Smedes. For help with past bitter memories click Outrageous Forgiveness In 30 Days to see if my latest book may help you. LML
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