Here by the altar

And here by the water
I'll build an altar to praise Him
Out of the stones
that I found here
as rough as they are
knowing you can make them Holy
Not sure who wrote these words, but to me they speak volumes.
Stick's and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me....but can't they? I read a post on facebook yesterday. Don't rely on others and you won't be hurt. Do you agree or do these words make you sad? We hurt others all the time. Mostly I believe unintentionally. You see we are all not perfect. We strive to do better, but fail. The stones ,the rough stones are us, you and me. But if God is my Father and I am His child are we not called to rely totally on Him? And if we are to model the love of Jesus to others are we not called to open our hearts to others? Opening our hearts involves trust. Opening our hearts makes us vulnerable. Not in control of the outcome of our relationship. And when our trust is broken, do we shut down because it is easier to say, I'm not going to be hurt again? So I'll just keep to myself. But when we live this way , we also do not get to experience the true joy and intimacy of some else's love and the pleasure of God controlling every area of our lives. In other words if we love unconditionally , we experience unconditional joy that we would otherwise be missing out on. And when we do get hurt , we are commanded to forgive 70 X 7. Forgive always. When we don't forgive we loose out. God put no limits on forgiveness. When we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us all our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And when He cleanses us, He can make us holy. Here by the altar, I confess my unforgiving heart .