This is a hard topic for me to discuss. It is about my father (and perhaps yours).
As a boy, my father had rich and powerful gangster friends and family. Everything he advised was about how he had the steadfast principles of gangsters and how they had no fear. He considered his solutions morally superior. His intent was for me to follow in his mindset of gangsters. Even though, it has grown to be customary that whenever I had a problem, I went to my father for advice.
While my father gives advice, these thoughts always obstruct my mind from listening to him, my father is a very proud man; he is self-righteous; and, he considers himself as superior above all. So, I often find myself unable to listen to him and think rationally of him. Any attempt to mitigate the irrational thoughts would be considered as pitying my father. And, this is the last thing he would ever accept.
So you see, my father in his pride is destroying my mind. This carries throughout my relationships with men. Perhaps, you have the same or similar experience with your own father or know someone else in the same predicament. For me, this is where God’s merciful love breaks these chains of bondage in my mind.
God’s merciful love comes from the crucifixion of his only begotten Son, Jesus, for the salvation of mankind. Why should Jesus die for mankind? Mankind continues to sin daily – whether it be venial sin or mortal sin? It is out of love that God wants mankind to take the path to heaven. It is out of love that God wants mankind to know peace. It is out of love that God wants mankind to know happiness. It is out of love that God wants mankind to persevere in righteous deeds. It is out of love that God wants mankind to learn forgiveness towards each other. It is, in fact, a matter of mankind to choose to receive the outpour of merciful love God has for us.
So, this morning, this is how I pray. The three words I think of are forgiveness, peace, and happiness.
Heavenly Father, I devote my mind to you. Help me with Your grace of FORGIVENESS when I am awake and when I am sleeping. Fill me with Your grace of FORGIVENESS towards my father’s being. Help me to find PEACE in my mind in this relationship. I offer this up to you that other persons in this community will be granted Your grace of FORGIVENESS and Your PEACE in their minds. Let us not allow captive thoughts of despair, hatred, vengeance, and confusion to override our minds. Your merciful love, I will reject no more. I receive. Thus, bring HAPPINESS into my life and all in this community.
Thank you very much for sharing, I learned a lot from your article. Very cool. Thanks. nimabi