THERE ARE crucial things in life that call for great
human qualities. Our present fear is that man will not
be big enough to meet the demands of the day. A lack of
large character equipment is a real peril at all times.
It is here and now that the world needs the help of a
Master such as Jesus the Christ.
Jesus taught bigness of character to His followers. With
such bigness within Himself He was more than a Preacher.
He was a Teacher Supreme. He not only pointed the way,
but He went forward and showed the way. In the hours of
great stress He showed Himself mightier than Pilate, the
Governor of all Judea, or Chiapas, the High Priest, and
head of the Church, or any and all of the accusing
Scribes and Pharisees. It is true that for a moment they
had power over His body and tried Him and condemned Him
to be crucified, the maximum sentence that could be
given anyone, but through it all His mind and Spirit
commanded them. They dragged Him through the streets
bound as a prisoner, they nailed Him to a cross on the
hill of Calvary, but He, looking down upon them and
seeing their smallness of mind, cried out, "Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do." A man who
is great enough to forgive is always greater than the
forgiven. He is superior. He is greater than his
adversary.
Peter, the disciple, was greatly perplexed one time
while listening to one of the many lessons of the
Master. He raised the question which is the basis of
this lesson. Turning to Jesus he asked:
"Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I
forgive him, until seven times." Now this was a generous
gesture on his part, for the Jewish law which he had
known allowed a man to be forgiven three times. This was
more than twice the grace that the law allowed, so Peter
must have felt the Lord would be pleased with his
extension of forgiveness. But he found himself more
perplexed when Jesus answered, "I say not unto thee
until seven times, but until seventy times seven." Such
a period would be indefinitely, so by that answer there
are no limits or restrictions to the Spirit grace's. The
quality of forgiveness must be as limitless as Faith,
Hope and Love. TOP
The Teachings of Jesus in reference to man's power to
forgive sins are, I believe, among the least understood
of all the Commands. As a rule there is a separation
made between sin and its many effects. When a man sins
we have been taught to think that this was a job for the
minister, and so he is called to pray for the sinner.
When a man becomes sick and' distressed in mind and body
from the effects of the sins he committed, we call for a
doctor. The doctor in turn endeavors to treat or repair
the
body and arrest the suffering. This, at best, we know is
but a temporary measure, for no real healing or
permanent cure can be effected until the doctor and the
minister work together.
Jesus was the Master Physician in that He dealt with sin
and sickness jointly. When they brought a man to Him who
had been sick with palsy, Jesus spoke of forgiving the
man's sins in order to heal him. The people who had
gathered around and heard Him speak, questioned His
actions. They said, "Who is this that speaketh
blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" They
did not understand how He could consider sin as a cause
of palsy. But there are some no further advanced today
who still want to believe that such a disease is caused
by a physical or an organic disorder, rather than to
accept the possibility of it being a mental or spiritual
laxity.
Jesus plainly taught that if ye forgive sin the effect
of such an act of forgiveness would become absorbed with
natural and healthy ideas much the same as the blackest
of night is absorbed with the dawn of light. The
blackness disappears and the light of day shines upon
all alike. When healthy and natural ideas fill the mind
the body takes on a like condition. Thus our progressive
men and women who are turning to a broader field of
study and are effecting healing through mental and
spiritual processes are not giving us anything new. They
are merely catching up with the facts of the Master and
are practicing His methods and teachings more liberally.
Jesus taught that the originating place of every act was
in the mind. He said, in brief, that where there is lust
in the heart, there is a sin; though the act may never
be committed. At another place He speaks of the origin
of sin being in the mind first before the act is
committed. "For from within," He said, "out of the heart
of man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, murders,
thefts, deceit, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these
evil things come from within, and they defile the man." TOP
Scientists accept the Truth that the body of man is
moved by the mind, that all its functioning is governed
by a ruling thought, whether that thought is subjective
or objective, whether it is conscious or unconscious.
Those who study the mental processes find that all the
conditions of the body are created or caused by the
mind. It is known that creation in any and every form is
governed by and subject to a law. Hence, when one
misuses, inverts, or violates a law, this mistake is
called a Sin. A sin is a mistake, a misunderstanding,
and a misjudgment. A mistake is falling short of, or
disobeying the law, whether
that law be mechanical or spiritual. Correction is the
only method of adjustment or of appeasing the law. Thus,
repentance and forgiveness are the only means available
to alter and correct the mistake. They are the only
means of liberating man from suffering the painful
consequences of a mistake. They are the only means that
will enable him to become in accord or in harmony with
the law. Forgiveness of sin means that we must forgive,
forsake, and forget that thought or person or condition
which prompted the sin. It means to abandon or let go of
the thing you ought not do. To abandon or release the
wrong thoughts or idea is to be absolved and liberated
from its sinful effects. Forgiveness is the first
requirement which permits man to be in harmony with the
Law of his being.
"Who can tell what that Law is?" we may ask. Anyone who
studies man as both a mental and a physical being can
know the Law. If he were to try to learn the Law by
studying the physical actions or the results of the Sin
alone, it would lead to nowhere. He would be running
around in circles, and that would be useless and futile.
If he will go deeper and study the causes and that which
prompted the sin, he will get results. He must analyze
the case and search for some harbored, hidden, and
forgotten shock or condition that would have caused the
illness. Then, unless this harbored thought is uprooted
from the unconscious mind or memory, this condition will
continue to appear again and again in spite of all the
surface remedies that may be applied to arrest the pain.
Like weeds in your garden, if you go about and cut them
off each time they appear before your eyes, they may be
cut off for a time, but, because they were not pulled
out root and all, they will sprout again. Weeds must be
pulled out completely to be destroyed and permanently
removed. TOP
A noted physician, talking before a group of other
medical men on this very subject of thought being the
source of disease, was recorded as having said in his
concluding remarks, "Abnormal tumors and cancers are due
to a long period of suppressed grief and anxiety."
Another way of saying that such diseases are due to a
lot of sinful thoughts getting bottled up and suppressed
within our minds. If this state is so destroying, it
might be wise for us to probe into our own selves and
note the effect our emotions have upon the physical
organism. Then let us seek by every means at our command
to overcome, abandon, and forsake every emotional tug
that has a debilitating and disturbing effect.
Another leading psychiatrist has said, "Most of the
cases of mental disorder of a functional type are due to
a sense of guilt." There are some harbored and congested
thoughts that need forgiveness. Usually a sick mind
fears to release them or to forgive them. This is
natural, for if they were able to release and forgive
the fearful thoughts they would no longer be sick
minded.
Professor Gates of the Psychological Laboratory of
Washington, D. C., in an experiment testing the emotions
and the reactions of the body, found some interesting
results. He found some forty bad emotions, and many more
that were good. Of all the bad emotions he said the
reaction of guilt was the worst. This deduction was
gained by a chemical analysis of the perspiration taken
from the body. A small quantity of perspiration was
taken from each emotional reaction and tested. The bad
emotion showed a strong acid test. Now if you put some
acid on your flesh you know what will happen. The acid
will burn, and if allowed to continue to burn it will
prove painful and destroy the very tissue of your flesh.
It is just such a chemical reaction that is affecting
the tissue and organism of the body when these
destroying thoughts are allowed to harbor within arid
generate a poison which weakens and eventually destroys
the body. TOP
A wise physician one day had a caller who, as he put it,
had gone the round of the doctors and sanitariums, but
with it all was as yet not healed. In fact, he was
growing worse, and in addition to the original malady,
he had an increasing condition of melancholia and with
suicidal tendency. The physician, knowing that he had
gone the rounds and had had medical care, decided to
approach the case from a mental angle. He questioned and
studied each answer with care. After a time he gained
the confidence of his patient and learned the real
secret cause of his long
illness.
Many years before, this man and his brother were
business partners, and the man had appropriated and lost
some money that rightfully belonged to his brother. It
was used in such a way that his brother could not have
found this out even if he had investigated. They later
severed business connections and he retired from that
work, but, as he put it, he could never forgive himself
for taking the money. He wanted to return it, but could
not do so without the brother learning the truth. He
said it was not the fear of legal punishment that
tormented him so much, but the possible loss of his
brother's affection. They had always been inseparable
and devoted. It was for this reason that he feared to
confess his guilt and make amends in whatever way he
could.
The physician explained that the thing to do was to
relieve this hidden pressure. The only way to do it was
to call on his brother and make a clean breast of the
whole affair. The patient, not equal to the suggestion,
went home to think it over. Three days later he called
the physician, stating that he had spent three dreadful
days and sleepless nights battling with himself, and had
decided to visit his brother. He was in such a mental
state that he knew his brother's treatment, once he
learned he was a thief, could be no worse than the
misery he was suffering. He told his brother the story,
and to his surprise, the brother threw his arms about
him and rejoiced with him that was cleared from his
mind. It was a joyful time for them, for that cloud, the
only cloud in their lives, had disappeared. The skies
were clear again and the restoration of the health of
the patient was miraculous to those who did not
understand what had been cleared away.
Through repentance and forgiveness the man was able to
do as Jesus had commanded the woman He was called upon
to judge, "Go thy way and sin no more." The rooted
sorrow had been plucked from his memory. His mind was
free to think on healthy, happy and joyful thoughts.
This allowed his body to be quickly healed. To some it
may have seemed like a miracle, but not at all; it was a
natural law operating in a natural, unrestricted Way. TOP
Facing such indisputable facts we can understand more
fully why Jesus so often spoke of forgiving sin. He knew
the law of forgiveness and He knew how vitally important
a part it played in every man's life. The more we study
it, the more amazed we become at its simplicity and
accuracy of fulfillment. We are to forsake, for as
Solomon tells us, A SIN FORSAKEN Is A SIN FORGIVEN, "to
forgive, to release some part of our disposition that is
not an asset nor a pleasure to others around us. In
turn, we are repairing the breach where we have missed
the mark, made a mistake, or sinned. Weeds do not remove
themselves in
time. Instead they will increase and grow stronger until
they choke out the flower. The same thing is true of our
sinful thoughts. In the garden of our memory they must
be plucked out, cast out, and destroyed so that only
flowers of healthy and happy thoughts may grow.
A man may have the habit of excessive drinking, and is
not only miserable within himself, but causes
such unhappiness in his home. He desires to overcome the
sinful habit. He is given every aid from his friends and
loved ones to help him resist the desire and the craving
for drink. Time after time he rises above the
temptation, and then he fails. Repeatedly his family
forgives him and encourages him to battle on. Finally he
reaches the place when he no longer has the craving,
then he is able to forsake the desire for drink and
overcome its sinful effects. Then he has forsaken, not
the drink alone, but the desire for the drink. When man
forsakes the idea that prompts the desire and brings
about the physical action, then and not until then does
the Law forgive and lift him from its debilitating
effect. A sin forsaken is a sin forgiven when the
thought or idea that prompted the sin is corrected.
James explains the truth clearly in saying, "Every man
is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin." Simply put, it means that every man when he
conceives an idea that is Wrong, destructive, or evil,
and dwells upon it, eventually causes it to become a
fact. When he wishes to overcome a sinful condition he
does not waste time wrestling with the fact, but
corrects, forsakes, forgets, forgives the idea that
started it. This is the weed in the garden that must be
pulled out top, stock, root and all to be completely
destroyed.
At another time we find that Jesus repeated the Law and
with some explanation. In His prayer He state's,
"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." This
is a perfectly reasonable proposition. As we forgive
those who transgress against us, so shall we be forgiven
of our transgressions. This law has followed us down
through time, and today we speak of it as though it were
something new, we call it "modern psychology." The Law
reads that certain ideas must be dissolved and cleared
from the mind in order that other ideas or new ideas of
a different character may replace them. It may be
explained as a bottle that is already full which must be
emptied before it can be refilled or added to. Jesus
spoke of it when He said: "Neither do men put new wine
in old bottles, else the bottles break." TOP
For example, if you hold in your mind that someone has
wronged you or has treated you unjustly, you cannot be
free from your wrong doings or injustice so long as you
hold that thought ill your consciousness. Often people
complain that they do not understand clearly or get the
illumination of spirit as others have testified. You
need only to search your memory to find the cause. If
you do not get the understanding you expect, first
search your mind for lurking, unforgiving thoughts that
have been tucked away from your notice. Is your thought
realm filled with resentment that you may hold against
some person or condition? Have you a feeling that you
have been slighted by this person or that one? The Law
reads, "If ye forgive not their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses." We make the
conditions for ourselves as we meet the demands of the
Law.
Some people ask if we believe in canceling monetary
obligations of those who owe us, or, literally, should
we cancel the debts of our debtors? There were a number
of people in the past months who have made the front
page in the newspaper because they wrote off their books
with receipts in full to all who owed them. Did this
eliminate the debts? Well, the debtors were loud in
their praises for such a generous soul, but they came
right back to do more business with the grocer or the
butcher and asked them to charge it. In other words,
they were glad to be relieved of the debt charged
against them, but they knew no different than to return
and open a new account.
The answer is, that so long as we believe in the
necessity and reality of debt, such debt will continue
to endure. So long as we believe in debts we shall get
into debt and continue to collect all the burdens and
headaches that come with them. He who does not in his
own thought release all men who owe him stands liable,
himself, to fall into debt. If we send receipted bills
to all who owe us, would that relieve us from the burden
of debt? No, the signing of the receipts does not erase
the idea of debt from our minds. First we must erase
from our minds the thought that anyone can owe us
anything. This then will bring us into a clear
atmosphere in which we so seeds or ideas of abundance
for those who are indebted to us. In this way the
debtors will find their minds more fertile soil to bring
forth thoughts of abundance. When they catch the spirit
of the free flowing thought of plenty, they will be
happy to pay their debts, and all that is justly ours
will come to us cheerfully. In other words, when we free
our minds from all thoughts of debt and try to realize
more and more the presence of plenty, we shall soon be
strong enough to reach out and realize abundance for our
debtors. As they are lifted up from the thoughts of
limitation and lack, they will attract more and more
substance with which they can pay their bills. In this
way, and only in this way, can debts be permanently
cancelled. Through applying the Law of Forgiveness both
parties concerned will be lifted from a debt
consciousness to a prosperous consciousness, and
prosperity and plenty shall abound. TOP
Everyone must at some time walk the path of forgiveness.
We must learn to live this Law. It must be important,
for the Master taught that there was no hope of
forgiveness for the unforgiving. Only as we forgive are
we forgiven. We must put forth the first effort. Our
willingness must open the way for our forgiveness. We
dare not ask more of the Law than we are able to extend
to ourselves or to our brothers. Unless we prove this
Law by living it, we cannot hope to gain the bigness of
character that life requires.
As we ponder over this whole thought, we may wonder if
the Master was looking forward to the essential part
forgiveness must play in the order of the world events
of today. The Truth runs deep into
everyday life. When we recall the rivalries that prevail
in almost every shop and office, when we see the
jealousies that divide the neighborhood, when we observe
and feel the envies both scholastic and professional,
when we have strife and discord in our own homes, we see
the solemn, though simple, teachings of forgiveness
strike deeply into your life and mine. If we cannot
forgive, we may know we have a small soul untouched by
the teachings of the Master. These are our daily tests,
for it is in the school of forgiveness that the lessons
of life are learned.
FORGIVE
"That slight misdeed of yesterday, why
should it mar today?
The thing he said, the thing you did, have
long since passed away;
For yesterday was but a trial; today you
will succeed,
And from mistakes of yesterday will come
some noble deed.
Forgive yourself for thoughtlessness, do not
condemn the past;
For it is gone with its mistakes; their
memory cannot last;
Forget the failures and misdeeds, from such
experience rise,
Why should you let your head be bowed? Lift
up your heart and eyes!
