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FAITH FAMILY ADVENTURE SHORT ANSWERS

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Monday, March 21, 2011

Rivers of Grace

I stumbled this morning across a seldom sung verse of a great hymn. The hymn is "Come, Ye That Love the Lord," written by Isaac Watts in 1707. Here is the fourth verse from our hymnal (originally the fifth verse) followed by a verse not printed in our hymnal (originally the sixth verse). I'm including both verses to provide the context.

This mighty God is ours,
Our Father and our Love.
He will send down his heavenly pow'rs
To carry us above.

There we shall see his face,
And never, never sin;
There, from the rivers of his grace,
Drink endless pleasures in.


It is those last two lines that especially attracted my attention today. When God calls us to him above, we shall "drink endless pleasures" "from the rivers of his grace." I love the idea of his grace being as rivers--not as a river, but as rivers. There is so much grace that it cannot be contained in one river but fills up several channels. And it's not just a periodic flow. I imagine several mighty rivers, deep and wide, carrying infinite volumes of water because the flow never stops.

For some reason I keep picturing Iguacu Falls in South America--a massive waterfall system that thunders over nearly two miles of cliffs and falls some 200 feet (photo courtesy Martin St-Amant - Wikipedia - CC-BY-SA-3.0).



Imagine such a river, with a stunning, beautiful, and neverending display of water power. And then imagine several of them. Such are the "rivers of his grace." That grace never ends. It is infinite in its reach, stunning in its power, and awe-inspiring in its beauty. And through that grace, we are offered "endless pleasures" with God above.

This also reminds me of one of my favorite verses of scripture, which also speaks of the grace offered us with God above:

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. [Rev. 7:17]

Thursday, March 17, 2011

With Malice Toward None

Among the virtues President Gordon B. Hinckley discusses in his book Standing for Something is forgiveness. This is a good one for me to work on. I am often too petty and too willing to hold a grudge, to nurse a complaint, to harbor ill will toward others.

President Hinckley speaks of this virtue as something that should result from our blessings and prosperity. We who have been given so much should be willing to forgive others. He describes it as the "magnanimous spirit of forgiveness" and "a sign of spiritual and emotional maturity."

He also talks about the "gnawing and destructive canker" of not forgiving. "Hatred always fails," he says, "and bitterness always destroys."

I have thought a lot about this over the last year or so; I have thought about my need for forgiveness and forbearance from others. I make many blunders (most of them fairly innocent) and am in desperate need of patience and forgiveness. If I need that treatment from others, should I not be willing and ready to offer it myself? If most of my mistakes and offenses are done innocently and ignorantly, should I not assume that the mistakes of others are similarly lacking in ill will? As such, do they not merit patience and forgiveness? Giving such forgiveness, says President Hinckley, requires self control and letting go of pride. It requires repenting--seeking forgiveness for our lack of forgiveness. It requires humility and charity.

The Savior called on us to "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you." (Matt 5:43-44).

I need to do much better in this realm of loving and forgiving, and it appears this is a universal challenge. President Hinckley said, "Frankly, most of us have not reached that stage of compassion and love and forgiveness." He also quoted General Omar Bradley:

"We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. . . . Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living."

This is a good reminder of what is true greatness. President Hinckley said, "There are those who would look upon these virtues as signs of weakness. But it takes neither strength nor intelligence to brood in anger over wrongs suffered, to go through life with a spirit of vindictiveness, to dissipate one's abilities in planning retribution, or to press a grievance when someone else is 'down.' There is no genius or peace in the nursing of a grudge."

I'm grateful for this gentle call to repentance. Too often I pettily fume and fuss and stew over molehills of offense. And most often such offense is not intended and the perceived offender bears me no ill will. Yet I get angry and frustrated and resentful.

President Hinckley classifies this behavior as being among "the weak and beggarly elements" of our lives spoken of by Paul (Galatians 4:9). "There is great wisdom and restraint," he says, "in turning the other cheek and, in the process, trying to overcome evil with good."

Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is a great example of the magnanimous forgiveness we should offer: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, . . . let us . . . bind up the nation's wounds."