I've been busy the last few days preparing for a hunting trip in the lower part of South Carolina. My excitement level is still very high even though I've had to do a great deal of things I do not enjoy in order to prepare for the hunt. I've had to locate hunting gear. I've had to pack my clothes. I've had to clean my firearms and locate ammunition. I've had to download directions and tie up many lose ends and on and on and on.... When I get to the hunting location, I'll sleep on a thin camper matress. I'll wake up much earlier than normal. I'll endure the elements and many inconveniences and I'll do all of these things in the hope of bagging my game - which may or may not even show up. I go through a great deal of preparation for something that may never even materialize. That is what got me thinking about forgiveness and the problem of pain and suffering.
Many Christian people go through life in similiar fashion to my hunting preparation over the last few days. They spend endless hours fretting over something that happened that they can do nothing about or they spend endless hours expecting the worse case scenario that may never even materialize. The reality of our existence is that pain and suffering are a part of it. We simply can't ignore that or make it disappear, but when it comes to pain and suffering as related to our relationships, we most certainly can do something about that. We can forgive those who have wronged us or seek the forgiveness of those we have wronged. We can endeavor to live in such a way as to minimize the wrong we do and some of the wrong we receive. We can prepare to forgive and receive forgiveness.
In order to become skilled at this disappearing art, we need to practice a few things. We need to practice asking God to forgive us for the wrongs we've committed. We need to offer forgiveness, quickly, to those who wrong us. We need to learn what it means to follow Jesus and then we need to follow him. Let me encourage you to prepare to forgive and let me encourage you to get in the field and realize what God has for us - peace with Himself and others.

Generally, people think of church as a place where churchy people congregate. We all know churchy people. They're the ones who are usually solemn and grim often joyless and many times holier than thou kinds of people. Truly, these are churchy people - religious people. The true church, though, is composed of men and women who have been redeemed and forgiven of their sin. These people are markedly different than churchy people. These people have a joy that is unmistakable. They are kind and compassionate and consistent. They are followers of Jesus. As followers they learn from Jesus how they are to approach life and then they approach in the same way that Jesus did.
As Christ followers, we reach out to those who are living fully in the consquences of their sin or fully caught up in this sinful world. We do this because this is exactly what Jesus did for us. When he came the first time, he didn't come in reference to judgment, he came to extend grace and forgiveness. There will be a time when he will come in judgment and the invitation of grace will cease, but until that happens we are to reach out to those who are bound up in sin. I imagine that many people feel like church is a judgmental and condemning place, but when church is what is supposed to be (men and women boys and girls who have been redeemed and forgiven of their sin), then church can be one of the most liberating places on the planet. The reason for this is because people can see the transformation that has taken place in others and experience that same transformation for themselves.
The bible calls Christians to love one another, to bear one another's burdens, to forgive one another and on and on we are to give attention to one another. Have you ever considered the possibility that church is a place God has given us to help us with our sin problem? For Christians, we need to recognize that many people are carrying the burden of what they have sown. We need to help them see the invitation of Jesus to a light burden and an easy yoke. We need to help them find the antedote to their sin problem so they might know the freedom we know. We need to get them to Jesus.

Many of the bad things we experience are the result of living in a fallen and sinful world. We can't help those kinds of things. Sometimes, bad things happen and we are caught up in them by no fault of our own. There are bad things, though, that we sometimes find ourselves in exactly because of the sin we have committed. You know how that goes....You reap what you sow. James tells us in chapter 5 that some of us are sick because we sin. So, in the grand scheme of bad things, there are those bad things that happen as a result of livining in a fallen world and then there are those things that happen because we invite them to happen because of our sinful behavior.
We can not alter the course of those things that are out of our control, i.e., natural disasters; terrorists attacks; violent crime; etc... We CAN alter those bad things that we call consequences by altering our behavior. When we choose to do what God has told us to do, we invite his blessings. When we choose to disregard what God has told us to do, we invite his discipline and confusion follows.
I've had friends who simply couldn't understand why they could never have a meaningful relationship. Yet, they continued to enter into relationships based on physical attraction, greed, convenience and the like. You've known people who have had financial issues and don't know why; yet, they continue to live beyond their means and make poor choices. The point is this: You reap what you sow. Hopefully, you'll take this encouragement to walk in obedience rather than disobedience so that you can live in God's blessing and not his discipline. Share this thought with someone you know who needs to hear it. Blessings!