Pardoned of Offenses

Pardoned of Offenses
I want to talk about a time when I disappointed myself. Or course God loved me then, and He still loves me. Of course, I wished to be perfect but realized I could never be. For those who feel that they are perfect Christians, and expect those who confess Jesus as their Lord to be perfect, please understand that it is not the case. It is only through the grace and guidance of the beautiful Holy Spirit that we can live quiet lives while we exist in our flesh. When we don’t allow His guidance, we can do horrible things to each other. So don’t blame God.

James 3:8-9 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

Although I am not perfect, God’s love is everlasting, and when I realize my mistakes, I can comfortably place myself back into his loving arms not allowing condemnation to overwhelm me.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

So that said, I would like to tell you about the incident that I experienced. A client came into the office, and in fact, she came in several times. Honestly, possessing a degree in psychology and being in the industry for many years, I have learned to recognize people’s attitudes from just their gestures and demeanor; also I think it is my gift from God. From the scowl on her face and her abrasive manner, I knew she was one that I rather not assist and was going to be trouble from the start. Everyone else was busy, so this left only me to help her.
When I approached her, she slammed her paperwork on the counter and looked at me. She indignantly said, “I want to put this car in my name.” When I inspected her documentation, realizing she did not have anything close to what she needed to transfer the vehicle into her name, I apologized to her and politely sent her away. Returning for the second time (since I started with her I kinda had the duty to finish her transaction) I reviewed her documents again, and as fate would have it, she still did not have the correct documentation. I sent her away again. Please realize that I was not rude or uncooperative, but as in any profession, we have guidelines to follow.
Again she returned for the third time and, no one else would consider helping her, so she was entirely mine. Upset now, she angrily threw the documents at me and said, “I hope this is what you need.”
I held back my desire to tell her off and replied, “I am sorry you had to come back, but we need to make sure your documents show a continuity of ownership before we can accept them.”
She smirked at me, glared nervously around the room, and beginning to rattle on confessing that she was in a car accident. Her prior vehicle was a total loss; she blamed it on the stupidity of someone else, and because she was upset, blame was placed on me as well. Still, I held my patience.
Almost everyone hates the questions we ask, I guess they are a bit personal, but it is a requirement. After responding to two of my questions, the woman huffed, “I wish I had someone that knew what they were doing.”
Me, in all of my human imperfection, walked away from her; it was enough, I knew my job. To my fault, I allowed her bad temper to lure me into her insane grumpiness and no longer willing to deal with her behavior; I called for one of my co-workers to help her.
“Thank you for just walking away like that,” she scowled.
“Whatever,” I commented and returned to my office.
To my surprise, an hour later I sat there brewing in frustration since I was justified in my actions. However, my feelings over the situation changed as the Holy Spirit revealed to me how “mean” my actions were. I realized I failed to put myself in her position. Of course, she was rude, but I know people react to automobile accidents, almost always, as it was the end of the world, even if there are no injuries.
1st Corinthians KJV, 13- 3-4 (love) “Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.”
It hit me like a lightning bolt what I had done. I could have easily have finished the transaction and wished her a lovely day. Her rage became my frustration, which was my fault. God is always patient with me, so I needed patience.
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
I only wanted to relay this story to you because so many of us commit offenses each day against the other; however, sometimes we allow our wrong doings to hold us captive removing us from our loving relationship with God. God knows who we are, and loves us still, and we must not allow own thoughts of condemnation or the attacks from Satan, reminding us of our faults, to remove us from God.
Jesus tells us,
Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.