Salvation Station

Salvation Station features a chapter called The Love of Christ. It tells of His Forgiveness and how one touch from Him can change someone forever. In this book you will find stories of ordinary people, just like you and me, touched by an Extraordinary God.

Below is the foundational scripture for the chapter called The Love of Christ. In this writing you will also find my personal story on unforgiveness.

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

Unforgiveness is the dam that restricts the love in your heart from flowing freely. It creates a lake filled with anger, bitterness, and resentment. Don't allow your soul to be damned by this poison. Forgive in the same manner Jesus did; He forgave us to death! Let the Love of Christ reign in your heart so the Love of Christ can rain from your heart.

Unforgiveness is not the love of Christ and builds a jail cell to be used for solitary confinement. It's made exclusively for the one that does not forgive. The bars for the cell are made from hard substances called anger, thoughts of revenge, hatred, and self-poison. It is difficult to escape and this confinement can lead to the second death.

Below is part of a short story used in this chapter:

During that 6th grade year, the other 6th grade class was increased by some new kids on the block that enrolled midway through the year. These kids seemed to be more street savvy and calloused as they came from the low-income housing near 15th Avenue and Buckeye. One of the kids was called The Kid and was 13 years old; most 6-graders are eleven years old. I stayed away from The Kid as he was a loud and boisterous bully. He could have passed for Clubber Lang's son from the movie Rocky II. He was harsh when he spoke and his words shot out of his mouth like nails. All the kids in the entire school were afraid of him.

Anyway, the homerun disaster happened near the end of one of our sixth-grade competitive baseball games. It was one of the most unfair things that happened to me in life at that point. I was a darn good kid with straight A's. How many eleven-year olds have you ever known that could deliver newspapers before and after school seven days per week?

During this baseball game, my class was trailing by two runs, but we were batting last in our final inning. It was the perfect scenario when it was my turn to bat. There were two runners on base, and I was able to hit the ball perfectly. The ball sailed way over the left fielder's head almost to the swings. My classmates were cheering as I rounded the bases and was getting ready to score the winning run. I went from glory to unglory with a swing of the bat and a trot around the bases. The Kid was upset and stood in the way so I could not cross home plate. There were no coaches or teachers monitoring our game. I tried to tell him we won fair and square. He was ticked off at me and told me to shut up.

Since there was no adult presence, he began punching me and gave me a good beating. It was shocking and unfair to go from a hero to getting pummeled by a bully and losing all dignity in a blink of an eye.

I wish I could see The Kid today so I could challenge him and get even with him now. (Note to reader: I was still upset when I wrote this part even though it happened almost 60 years ago. As soon as I wrote, ‘get even with him now' I had to stop. It made me realize right then I needed to take a pause in writing and sincerely forgive The Kid.)

The beating hurt me physically but I felt more upset because none of my friends intervened. Over the years I had defended several of them before at various times. There was no one who stepped in or tried to stop The Kid. I was too embarrassed to go back into the classroom after recess so I went home without telling anyone in authority. This was a major violation of a Jackson School rule that had been ingrained into me for the past seven years at that point.

I went home limping and sobbing with my pants torn. I had blood on my knee and my head throbbed with every step I took. My nose had a trickle of blood that I smeared onto my forearm. I also felt a 'small mouse' forming under my left eye. To be continued . . . the story is more entertaining but you will have to finish reading it in Salvation Station.