In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader C.S. Lewis relates the story of Eustace Scrubb, a young boy who becomes “hard” due to his greed and meanness toward others, and so he turns into a dragon.  (You’ve met some of these yourself, it’s just that they don’t look very dragon-ish on the outside!  You may even be one–yikes!)  But Eustace cannot strip off his hide one layer at a time, it’s not so easy as that.  In order to be set free of his dragon-hide, Eustace needs Aslan to strip it off–and he has to go clear down, through the whole thickness of the hide.  But first, Eustace will have to consent.  (It’s a great story–read the rest of it sometime!)

In just the same way, forgiveness isn’t a road we can walk entirely on our own–it requires grace.  Just as when we pray for the Kingdom to come just “as it is” in Heaven, we’re looking for the Kingdom that already IS in Heaven to be established here on Earth where it IS NOT, at least not fully (or we wouldn’t have to pray for it!).  Here too, when we pray to be forgiven, we do so knowing not only that we need to be forgiven, but that our forgiveness rests on our forgiveness of those who have sinned against us (more on that, of course, tomorrow).

The road to wholeness is the road of repentance.  John the Baptist’s message was to “prepare the way of the Lord.”  We can understand this in two ways: first, John is himself preparing the way by preaching his message of repentance, but secondly, it’s the people of Israel he’s speaking to!  They are to prepare the way of the Lord into their own hearts and lives by repenting, rejecting the trajectory they were on and aiming instead for the Kingdom.  Repentance is the road to be traveled, and no one finds their way to the Kingdom apart from that road.

So as we reflect on this petition today, let’s be courageous enough to let God show us our hearts (Psalm 139:23-24).

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Let’s allow God to show us our hearts, so we can have our own dragon-hides removed, and so we can clearly see where and whom we need to forgive.

AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES

Many times we have shown ourselves foolish and have fallen prey to weakness, temptation and pride.  We have thought of ourselves over others and even sought out ways to satisfy ourselves at others’ expense.  We have judged others, indulged our biases and prejudices, acted in proud and selfish ways both for our own “benefit” and in our neglect of others.  And we have failed to act, we have failed to step in on behalf of the poor, the downtrodden, the victims, the weak and the powerless.  We have come up short in our families; we have not been the husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, children and siblings we could have been and should have been.  We have missed opportunities daily for serving and loving those precious others you have made in Your own image because we have been pre-occupied with our own lives and circumstances.  And even in our prayers to You our minds and hearts have focused on ourselves over others.  In daily and countless ways we have sinned against You, Creator of heaven and earth and Father of all.  Have mercy on us, O God.

[Name specific personal failures and relationships that need healing because of your own sin, neglect and/or hard-heartedness.]