Let go! Two simple short words but with a profound meaning and impact on our lives.
We are born needing to let go. Can you imagine, if you could, never letting go, never putting
something behind you or moving on? What if you were still crying from the first time you were
hurt. Or even still smiling from the first thing you thought was funny. I know you all have had a
time where your face really hurt from smiling and laughing too much and that was probably only
after a few minutes.
As children we faced daily challenges. Trying to walk for the first time and falling. The
first time you tried to make a friend and for whatever reason they didn’t want to play with you
that day. Did you give up and never try to make another friend? It seems that somewhere along
the way we lose this ability to let go or at least it seems to weaken in most people. As adults we
make a mistake and mess things up and we can’t seem to move past it or try again. Or maybe
someone hurts us, and we close ourselves off and find it hard to trust anyone ever again. We hold
onto our past and our hurt.
As Christians, there are two profound and much needed lessons that God is trying to
teach us, that we really need to understand. First, if you are obedient to His word no matter what
your past is, God will forgive you and You need to let it go as well. “For I (God) will forgive
their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12). Understanding our
forgiveness helps us learn to forgive others and leads us to the next lesson. We need to love, and
we are to love even if we get hurt. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have
loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). To be truly fulfilled and to be obedient
to God’s will we must love. We need to love ourselves the way God loves us. We also must
relearn some of that openness, kindness, and loving attitude we had as young children and love
others the way God loves them.

~B Tolbert