It seem to me that the way to remain
unforgiven is to look forgiveness in the face
and to mistake it for something altogether
other, like a child in a hall of mirrors
who sees distortion as reality and recoils
in horror and inconsolable;
it is not reasonable to reject mercy forever,
not to look for beauty between the seams
of the fairground illusions that obscure
our vision of infinity, the scope
and limit of grace.

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As difficult as this passage is to read and reflect upon, I appreciate the translations that lean into the having of forgiveness, as though it is always within our grasp, if only we will see it, reach out for it, recognize it for what it is, instead of rejecting it for what it isn’t. Mark 3:28-30