Well, guys, I'm pretty sure most of us can agree that this 'Winter to Spring to Winter' again over and over is getting just a bit old. I love snow, I grew up in MN, I am used to having snow in October or September all the way through late March and early April, but other people aren't.
Yeah, guys in Chicago, I may or may not have been praying for snow for the past 2 years... but hey, on the bright side, we have every reason in the world now to say that God definitely answers prayer! :D
Anyways, aside from that, hey, you guys seen Frozen yet? Apparently, this crazy winter has made that movie shoot to the top of 'Most Awesome Movie Ever' list, or something like that, haha.
I know a bunch of people have made awesome articles and dumb articles on it, so I thought I might as well do it too, you know?
I read an amazing article the other day that focused on one of the greatest things about the movie: Elsa froze Anna's heart, but Anna didn't let that stop her from trying to save her sister in the end, and then everybody cries because you suddenly realize that true love, whether romantic or sisterly, can melt even the most frozen of hearts. As Olaf said, "An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart."
But think about it. People freeze our hearts all the time. Whether it was a bad breakup, a bad childhood experience, someone you trusted with everything you had who broke everything you are now or were, and now we're all just walking around, slowly freezing as our hearts continually get colder and colder.
It started on the inside with Anna, before her body (hair, hands, face, the way she walked, etc.) showed that she was literally freezing to death. The same thing happens to us. We're frozen on the inside, and that ice starts to show after a bit.
But if you choose to forgive and love that person who put the ice in your heart, you're letting it go (let it gooooooooo) and the ice is gone.
Here's something to think about if you're still not getting it: We beat Jesus. We whipped Him and humiliated Him and broke His body and nailed Him to a cross. It was us, our fault, our sins, that did that to Him.
He had plenty of time to let His heart freeze, to throw in the towel and say, "You know what? Forget this, you're not worth it!" But He didn't. He didn't care that we don't deserve it. He didn't care that it was our fault He had to die. He paid the ultimate sacrifice so we could be saved. His love for us pushed Him to do the craziest things, and it's strong enough to unfreeze the ice in us and everybody around us.
I know forgiveness isn't easy. It's basically letting the offender go free while the victim pays the price. But if you forgive them and love them anyways, then you show them a way out of their metaphorical frozen kingdom, a way to change it. Whether they unfreeze it or not is up to them, but at least you chose to thaw your own heart.
Love and forgiveness are tricky, scary things, but 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (NIV), and Matthew 6:14 says, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." (NIV)
Also, Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (KJV) I won't get into doctrine right now, but when God remits your sins, they're gone, like, GONE. When cancer goes into remission, it doesn't come back. When God remits your sins, He forgets them, they're covered by the Blood of Jesus.
But you know something interesting about this verse in Acts 2? It doesn't say 'for the remission of YOUR sins' it says 'for the remission of sins'. That means ALL sins. Not just yours, but the ones that people did to you. Need more Word about this? 1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" (KJV) and 1 John 2:2, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (NIV)
Love and forgiveness might seem like a bad idea when you've been hurt over and over and over. But if we're called to be like God, then that means we have to forgive like God, right? That means over and over and over and over.
Stop letting yourself freeze over. Open yourself up to love and forgiveness, whether it's for someone who hurt you, or even for yourself.
Love you guys. :) Have a great rest of your week.
--Sonya
