Pray the Mark - 26d, Lord's Prayer 4

The commands of Jesus are the Mark, the target for the perfect life. To aim for and to hit the Mark is to conform to the image and likeness of God. To ignore, neglect, or miss the Mark is to sin. The commands provide stepping stones through earthly life, upon which the child of God survives tempests and deflects the boomeranging darts of pride. Adhering to the Mark aspiring immortals gain victory.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Matthew 6:12

In yet another reminder to aim for the Mark of perfection, a shiny gold coin is set before us. Heads we forgive, tails we are forgiven. There are two sides to every valuable coin. A one-sided coin is useless. A one-sided useless coin would want to be forgiven without forgiving others, or the other side: would forgive without asking God for forgiveness?

Forgive us our debts. To ask God for mercy and forgiveness should make us stop to think about what we did wrong, about how we missed the Mark. The hypothetical or general wrong may not be enough. This is why it is so important to study the Mark until it is part of daily consciousness (…and my words abide in you Jn 15:7), until we can spot immediately where every dart landed. We need to know exactly what we want to be forgiven for so we can evolve into an immortal child of God.

As we forgive our debtors. With the same metal, turn every dagger thrown at you into a chisel to help form you in Christ-likeness.  Think about how or when Christ suffered similarly. Being the victim of harm carries power with it. Will you use that energy to build, or to destroy?

No wonder the Kingdom of God is such a peaceful place. No one holds a grudge here, and everyone knows the reasons why he or she was forgiven and is all the more grateful.

Peace:Life

Life:Peace

The Mark – 23, Forgive or Die

The commands of Jesus are the Mark, the target for the perfect life. To aim for and to hit the Mark is to conform to the image and likeness of God. To ignore, neglect, or miss the Mark is to sin. The commands provide stepping stones through earthly life, upon which the child of God survives tempests and deflects the boomeranging darts of pride. Adhering to the Mark aspiring immortals gain victory.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

Matthew 6:14

Imagine a ball with needles protruding all around it.

Now imagine that you are walking along a path in the woods, enjoying the crisp clean air of a snowy winter’s day when suddenly someone lobs that weapon at you. It cuts you in several places and lands in your hands. You look up to see who hurt you. How do you react?

1. Throw the sharp ball right back and aim for the face.
2. Hold onto the ball and cry very loud to get sympathy, while pointing at the offensive assailant.
3. Drop the ball, look up at the assailant, smile, and keep on walking.    

Every time you refuse to aim for the mark, to obey the commands of Jesus, to be kind, generous, pure of heart, make peace, etcetera you are throwing that poison ball at the heavenly Father. You expect Him to drop the ball, smile at you and keep on walking. 

The Mark of God-likeness requires us likewise to drop all deadly weapons that hit us and keep on walking. Don’t retaliate, don’t cry and blame, don’t look back even for a second.

To forgive means to let it go, with purpose and with great abandon. No one on the path to immortality brings weapons along. Smile and keep on walking toward the light.