On Guard Forgiveness

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation…  They (the families) forgave the shooter in South Carolina. They did their part. Before the nation and the world the families stood strong in their faith according to the Gospel. How shall we be on our guard against so many systems that continually make the claim that it was built on “Godly” values? We know that it’s not just guns that we must protect ourselves against. If we take away every gun in this world and the hatred remains what have we accomplished; the killing of the body. How do we stop the killing of the mind? We must be on guard from every aspect, every angle of thought that seeks to destroy the Spirit to which God intended us to be in relationship. Gracious Lord, you promise that your word will not return void. Help us to be on guard against those whose actions try to call us out of our faithfulness to the true God and let not our forgiveness be lost, let it not be disregarded, but rather accomplish the work you have given us to do.