A Simple Truth: We Must Forgive

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This morning I return with you to one of the bedrock truths of our faith, forgiveness. At times we drift and need to be re-grounded in what is actually true, what stands beyond opinion or debate, and this is one of those moments. Swedenborg reminds us in Secrets of Heaven 2937 that spiritual people are “redeemed by truth because they are reborn,” which means that truth points us toward love, and forgiveness grows out of both. I speak of love as the gold standard and truth as the silver standard, for when we cannot find our way through love, truth still guides us back. Forgiveness then becomes the bridge to goodwill, sometimes releasing relationships, sometimes renewing them, but always anchored in wishing the best for others. Without it, the world simply does not work. We have seen the devastation when hatred rules and the healing when forgiveness prevails. And so I invite you, friends, to practice forgiveness and goodwill this week, letting peace and wholeness…the shalom Christ brings, take root in your life and in our shared humanity.