Easter weekend holds so much special meaning to me as a Christian; without Easter I wouldn’t have the new life I found over 40 years ago! Easter is a time for both remembrance and celebration. On Good Friday we remembered the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus. The Son of God was the only person who could make such a sacrifice, who could go through a most awful death, to have crude, rough nails hammered into His hands and feet, a spear plunged into His side, a crown of long, sharp thorns pressed heavily into His skull. He was tortured and ridiculed….FOR US.

Then Easter Sunday morning we celebrated! Jesus, risen from the dead, living! The one act that separates Jesus from all other “gods” is that HE IS ALIVE! His grave is empty. Because of Him I too can live a resurrection life. My old life has been completely washed away….completely rubbed out…GONE! Of course I remember it…but when God looks at me He only sees me through Jesus. He doesn’t see all the awful things I did and said. I have no righteousness of my own, I’m wearing “the coat of righteousness” only Jesus can give. I’m completely forgiven!  I still mess up , I still say the wrong stuff sometimes, I still do the wrong things sometimes, I still have some really bad thoughts sometimes…and I still get angry sometimes…….don’t we all?

On Good Friday evening I was feeling pretty rubbish,  on the Thursday before, my husband suffered six epileptic fits in one day. It was very scary and upsetting and on top of that I wasn’t feeling well either. I had a sore throat, and chesty cough and felt rough because of the Fibromyalgia I suffer with.

Something happened when I arrived at church that upset me a lot. I felt crushed, frustrated, angry….I had to get away to cry. I guess, for me, it was the last straw! I over-reacted concerning the matter……..I realised later.

I sat through the service, I signed for the deaf. I had a bright spotlight in my eyes the whole time which had now given me a migraine on top of  everything else!

At some point I decided I should apologise to the person concerned. After the service I sought the person out to say sorry, that I’d over reacted. I wanted to explain why but this person really didn’t want to hear it. I needed some grace and forgiveness….and a listening ear. Instead it was a lot of tears and backlash, I was made to feel it was all my fault. I knew I was wrong but there are always two sides to everything.

I couldn’t help thinking about what had just been preached…”Jesus didn’t come to rub it in, He came to rub it out!” Surely we should do the same when someone wrongs us and then apologizes, shouldn’t we be gracious enough to accept it and move on….not go on and on about it to really punish the offender, not keep rubbing it in?

We got over the incident, (I think), and hopefully it’s behind us now.

The bottom line is……..I really learnt something AGAIN that night. WE ARE HUMAN! We will say and do things that will upset and offend, but when we receive an apology let’s also be gracious enough to accept it, to put things right. Let’s not RUB IT IN!!!!

Psalm 133

1How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! 2It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. 3It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.