ROMANS 5:8
Edwin Stanton did not get off on the right track with Abraham Lincoln. When they first met, he rebuffed the US president personally and professionally – even referring to him as a “long-armed creature.” But Lincoln appreciated Stanton’s abilities and chose to forgive him, eventually appointing him to a vital cabinet position during the Civil War. Stanton proved an influential force in managing the Union war effort and eventually became one of Abraham Lincoln’s closest advisers. He grew to love Lincoln as a friend and sat by his bed throughout the night after the president was shot at Ford’s Theater and whispered through tears on his passing, “Now he belongs to the ages.” He also organized the manhunt for Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
Reconciliation is a beautiful thing.
The intense love Jesus showed by dying on the cross frees us from the debt for our sins and opens the way for our reconciliation with God (Colossians 1:19–20). His forgiveness enables us to forgive others as we realize we cannot forgive in our own strength and ask Him to help us. When we love others because our Saviour loves them and forgive because He has forgiven us, He gives us the strength to let go of the past and walk forward with Him into beautiful new places of grace.
