Ah, Lord, I hear my debtors knock
With hat in hand upon my mind,
Who’ve long since met my stony block
Of heart, and ceased my face to find.
And can I really fancy me
A better man than they have been
Because the first in repartee
Was theirs, against me first the sin?
For Lord, you know my rocky heart,
How furrows crooken on its plain;
You saw me take the meaner part
And curse my debtors for my pain.
Ah, friend of sinners, full of grace—
Assuming curses meant for me!—
Excruciated in my place,
E’en still, “forgive him” was thy plea.
O Lamb, you died as much for them
And their atonement as for me.
Forgive, restore, and comfort them;
Forgive, restore, and comfort me.
—6/17/25
I suspect this will be seen by those of whom it is written. (I would seek them out, but I do not wish to add grief to grief by reappearing, if I am wrong.) I pray the Lord’s forgiveness and theirs for my coldness and hardness of heart. I pray the Great Physician will heal the wounds that I could not, and the wounds that I inflicted in my anger.
I want you to know that you are completely forgiven, and you have been for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI have long regretted speaking and parting in anger. I hope that any harm I caused has been or will be healed in time, and that you can one day think of me without feeling any pain. Should God ever allow our paths to cross again, I hope I can extend a hand of friendship to you without the past casting a shadow over it.
I am grateful, Friend. I think seeking forgiveness for my own actions and learning to pray for your pain were the last pieces of the Lord’s healing regimen, for I find that I can finally look back on our past joy with fondness and look forward to a future that, no matter where the Lord directs our paths below, terminates in shared eternal praise.
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