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One day a while back, a man, his heart heavy with grief, was walking in the woods. As he thought about his
life, he knew many things were not right. He thought about those who had lied about him back when he had a job. His thoughts
turned to those who had stolen his things and cheated him. He remembered family that had passed on. His mind turned to the
illness he had that no one could cure. His very soul was filled with anger, resentment and frustration.
Standing there,
searching for answers he could not find and knowing all else had failed him, he knelt at the base of an old oak tree
to seek the one he knew would always be there. With tears in his eyes, he prayed: "Yahveh - You have done wonderful things
for me in this life. You have told me to do many things for you, and I happily obeyed. Today, you have told me to forgive
but I cannot. I don't know how. It is not fair. I didn't deserve these wrongs that were done against me and I shouldn't
have to forgive. As perfect as your way is, this one thing I cannot do, for I don't know how to forgive. My anger is so deep,
I fear I may not hear you, but I pray that you teach me to do this one thing I cannot do - teach me To Forgive."
As
he knelt there in the quiet shade of that old oak tree, he felt something fall onto his shoulder. He opened his eyes. Out
of the corner of his eye he saw something red on his shirt. He could not turn to see what it was because where the oak
tree had been was a large square piece of wood in the ground. He raised his head and saw two feet held to the wood with a
large spike through them.
Tears came to his eyes as he saw Yashua hanging on a cross. He saw spikes in His hands,
a gash in His side, a torn and battered body, deep thorns sunk into His head. Finally he saw the suffering and pain on His
precious face. As their eyes met, the man's tears turned to sobbing, and Yashua began to speak.
"Have you ever
told a lie?" He asked? The man answered - "yes."
"Have you ever been given too much change and kept it?" The
man answered - " yes." And the man sobbed more and more.
"Have you ever taken something from work that wasn't yours?"
The man answered - "yes."
"Have you ever sworn, using My Name in vain? " The man, answered - "yes."
As Yashua
asked many more times, "Have you ever?" The man's crying became uncontrollable, for he could only answer - "yes."
Then Yashua
turned His head from one side to the other and the man felt something fall on his other shoulder. He looked and saw that it
was the blood of Yashua. When he looked back up, his eyes met those of Yashua's, and there was a look of love the man had
never seen or known before.
Yashua said, "I didn't deserve this either, but I forgive you."
~ Author Unknown ~
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