Where did I desert someone? - The somewhat different Advent Calender VI ...

Thursday, Dec 6, 2012. We are talking about steps which lead us to pure hands and a pure heart. Part of this agenda is that we take our own actions serious and ask ourselves: where did I act wrongly? But then, we need to search and find forgiveness. The goal is not to put us down, but to lift us up. But it is necessary to become clean and pure. Forgiveness is needed, to start anew.

Where my actions have not been good …

It is difficult to forgive someone, who does not want forgiveness. If you do not see some demand, how can you serve it? If you do not see a fault, how can you correct it? If you have no guilt, why should you be forgiven? If we do not see, where we were wrong, there is no way to become right or to improve.

We need to ask ourselves, where we went wrong or where we fail today. Advent can be a time, where we look into our past, find the spots where we failed, and find forgiveness. Full and complete forgiveness.

Today, let us look for those we abandoned in our past. There are humans, who wanted to be our friends, but we were not ready. There are those, who were friendly to us, but we were unfriendly. There are those we deserted, and they had no choice with us.

Search and find forgiveness …

God wants to forgive us. He has sent Jesus, to die at the cross, to show that he wants justice as well as forgiveness. So we are free to come to him, to bring him all our failures and our guilt, and find forgiveness.

Lord, heavenly father! See the spots where I failed. I want to name the people and my behaviour where I know that it has been wrong in my past. Forgive me my guilt. Take it away and let it never ever be a question from now on. I pray in the name of Jesus, who died for me. But, Lord, also take away the hidden guilt. Who can know, how often he fails. Let me be completely clean in front of you. Let me be a new man, a new woman, in Christ Jesus, from now on and forever!

The apostles ask us many times to repent. They ask us to name our sins and bring them to Christ, to be forgiven. And they confirm that in him we are completely forgiven, we are restored, we are reconciled … and the door to God is wide open. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts