Watch that Second Step

In matters of forgiveness, as in all other virtues, the first step (forgiving) is comparatively simple compared to the second (reconciling). Hell is always ...

The Grace to Forgive

"Daddy, come quick," shouted my four-year-old daughter. "Someone stole the presents from under the Christmas tree."

At first I thought ...

Cleaning the Dirt and Not the Daughter

Have you ever watched a little girl get her new dress dirty just before church? Little girls get their dresses dirty sometimes when they really don't ...

The Sinner's Loss

Those who would avoid the despair of their sinfulness by staying far from God find they have also missed the forgiving grace of God.

Grace: The First and Last Word

Only when grace is the first and last word of contemplation can the scars of spiritual sin be healed.

Forgiveness Brings Healing

When I was at the Eddyville State Penitentiary several weeks ago, I learned about Paul Stevens. Paul Stevens's daughter was stabbed to death by a ...

Forgiveness Must Be Unconditional

A man came into my study not too long ago. His daughter was going to marry a young man he didn't like. (I too thought the young man was a turkey, ...

Forgiving Together

Our daughter is a Down Syndrome child. We have been teaching her to say the Lord's Prayer with us in church. Over the years, we've learned she ...

Making Peace

Peace is not made with friends. Peace is made with enemies.

Perfect Words for the Contrite Heart

For the following part of his Book of Common Prayer, [Thomas] Cranmer drew on a number of medieval sources and yet composed something greater than their ...