In his conclusion to Let It Go, T. D. Jakes reminds us that forgiveness is not a noun, but a verb. From his many years of experience as a pastor, he ventures that forgiveness is underutilized by adults: “People often believe it’s important conceptually but reserve forgiveness for a few moments in a prayer at church or . . . in a hastily-extended apology to a loved one.”
He illustrates his point by relating the story of a friend who bought a run-down warehouse on the Chicago waterfront. As part of the restoration process, the friend had an exterior wall that faced an empty parking lot power-washed and painted. Within a week the wall had been decorated with graffiti. The owner had the wall washed a second time- the graffiti returned. Finally, Bishop Jakes’ friend had an inspiration- hire young local artists to paint a mural on the wall! The cycle was broken and the problem solved.
As we multiply the mercy God has shown us, through the Holy Spirit we can power-wash the graffiti of unforgiveness from our hearts and move forward to revision our ministry.