Mercy, Forgiveness and the Ways of God - Revised and updated

Mercy, forgiveness and the Ways of God

Written and published by Jean-Louis. 12/2012. Revised 2017

This reflection follows my train of thought in a previous post on forgiveness and restoration.
 http://thelightseed.blogspot.com/2017/08/intercession-and-heart-of-god-when.html

The basic text is found in Isaiah 55: 8: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and "your ways are not my ways”

1. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

As an interpretation of this statement of God by the mouth of the prophet, I've always heard that man is so much inferior to God that he can in no way be compared to him. This being true, I do not think that this is the primary meaning or intent of this passage. The usual statement´s application covers any condition and any situation that baffles human understanding and prevents any further action or probing because of the transcendental nature of God. 

A closer analysis of the whole context in the preceding verses and the previous chapter show that God here is teaching by analogy a very important lesson on forgiveness and the resulting effects of the demonstration of compassion, mercy and grace, attributes of His divine nature. The way I understand it,  He is saying that whereas man would exact payment for food and water and work for wages, God gives freely and graciously if wicked man would turn to him and receive pardon. Whereas man in his natural state would not forgive wrong done to him and retaliate, seeking revenge, the Lord is compassionate and forgiving. So, to this extent and in this sense, it is true that man is unlike God. It reveals more about the pettiness of man´s spirit contrasted with the magnanimous, compassionate loving heart of our merciful Heavenly Father.

First notice the order. The verse begins with the Alpha, the beginning, the initiator of everything good and holy in our lives.

It is my understanding that this verse does not mean that man is unable to think like God because man as a new creature, born again by the power of the Holy Spirit has the indwelling Spirit of Christ as Paul says in I Corinthians 2: 12-16:

¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.^{[c] 14} The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,“Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”But we have the mind of Christ.” For a more detailed, concise explanation of what it means to have the mind of Christ.

     
2. "And your ways are not my ways.”

In the first part of the verse, the contrast between the OT and the NT scriptures is obvious and clear. On the other hand, the second part speaking of the ways of the Lord presents a word order in the reverse, beginning with man and his ways.

Psalm 103: 7 states that: "He made ​​known his ways to Moses." But "he made ​​known his deeds to the son of Israel." "The Jews require a sign," Paul declares in I Corinthians 1:22.

To me, the verse in Isaiah 55 simply means that man in his natural state as a sinner would not forgive an offense against him. Rather he would seek a means of revenge for expressing his resentment, bitterness and anger.

An example of these attitudes and intentions of the heart occurred very early in the history of man. Genesis 4:23 tells us how a descendant of Cain, Lamech, known for his jealousy, anger and murder of his brother Abel, boasted of his intention to avenge an injury by the death of his opponent and that he would be willing to take revenge seventy-seven times.

Contrast this malicious intent in the heart of a wicked man with the Lord Jesus´ answer  when Peter asked how many times we should forgive our brother who has offended us. Here is the beginning of the parable of the unmerciful servant:  ^"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Matthew 18:21,22. NIV
 
While man since the dawn of time has sought revenge, the Lord God full of compassion and forgiveness has reconciled us to himself through the sacrifice of his Son, the Lord Jesus-Christ. It is He through the operating power of the Holy Spirit who gives us the will, the courage and the strength to seek reconciliation and to forgive those who offend us. The Lord does not ask us to do whatever He commands us without giving us specific instructions, clear explanations and strength to do His will.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." Romans 15:5-7.
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  (NIV)

Understood that way, the Lord reveals the chasm between sinful man and a Holy God and provides the only way to ford the distance between the two by the power of His word in His covenants and promises. This way is found throughout the whole Bible as being the Lord Jesus-Christ, the Word of God.

Revelation 22:12,16,17 sets the final stage:
¹² “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man ^[g]according to what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things ^[h]for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

In Isaiah 55, the Lord alone extends an invitation to the sinner hungry and thirsty for real spiritual bread and water because of His mercy and compassion for His rebellious wayward children.

Now, it is at the end of the time of grace, the church age, that finally the bride (the church) and the Lord Jesus (who is the spirit of prophecy) both in one accord reiterate the invitation to those who hear and desire to come and share of the heavenly banquet.
¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
¹⁸ I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and ^[i]from the holy city, which are written in this book.
²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with ^[j]all. Amen.

Jean-Louis.

In Your Anger Do Not Sin -

Wednesday, January 20th, 2016

Republished from gracethrufaith.com 

• Forgiveness
• Past Featured
• Sin

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
“In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:26).”

This is the verse the Lord impressed upon my heart as I was asking for a topic for this article. It’s familiar to anyone who has ever experienced any Christian counseling, and like many Bible verses it bears closer examination.  Translations differ slightly in rendering this passage and the Greek contains some interesting insights, but Paul was quoting from Psalm 4 where the intent of the passage was established. Let’s begin there.

Contained in the Old, Explained in the New

Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame ? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ?

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him.
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.  Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.
Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.  I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

David was distressed by the Israelites’ continuing unfaithfulness to God. They were turning His glory to shame and seeking after false gods (Ps. 4:1-2). It is the same frustration we feel today in viewing the state of our world, so it’s logical to assume David was praying on behalf of all who would share his feelings, no matter how far into the future.

The Lord’s response was a warning to all of us not to let that frustration turn to sin, but to shift our focus away from what others are doing and search our own hearts instead.  I believe the Lord had David explain this because the next bit of advice is to offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put our trust in the Lord (Ps. 4:4- 5). In other words we’re to make our own peace with God and trust Him to deal with those who’ve aroused our anger. In Psalm 4: 7 David said that in obeying, he was given greater joy than those other people experience even after a bountiful harvest, and he was then able to sleep in peace, his anger gone.

So back to Ephesians 4:26.  Paul used two different Greek words translated anger in the NIV. The first one, at the beginning of verse 26, means to be provoked to anger. It’s a passive word, indicating the anger is the effect of an outside action. The other one, at the end of the verse, means rage or wrath and is used only here in scripture. The KJV translates the first as anger and the second as wrath, but the idea is the same.   What begins as a reactive impression can quickly become an active expression.

In the preceding verses Paul had been saying, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness “(Ephes. 4:22-24). 

It’s interesting that one of his first examples of behavior unsuitable to our new selves is anger.

It Feels So Natural

It’s natural to feel anger over the flagrant violation of God’s laws in the world, both inside and outside the church. It’s bad enough when this hurts others, but when it’s directed at us personally, it’s even worse.  And when that anger turns to resentment (anger stored for future use), or causes us to respond in kind toward  another person it becomes sin for two reasons. One, it puts us in God’s role of judgment, and two it causes us to presume that we’re better than the object of our resentment. That’s called pride.

Using the context from Psalm 4 then, the lesson becomes clear. Feeling anger is natural, but harboring it or acting upon it is sin, even if we convince ourselves we’re justified because the Lord’s on our side. Before we go to sleep at night we’re to realize that in different circumstances we’d be quite capable of the very behavior that has angered us.  Perhaps we’ve actually behaved that way at one time or another.

The Sermon on the Mount tells us that anger is as bad as murder from the Lord’s perspective (Matt. 5:21-22).  It’s the thought that counts, not just the deed.  As we lie on our beds we should let our hearts be convicted so we can confess and be forgiven of our own sins and purified from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). This is the sacrifice of righteousness counseled in Psalm 4:5. Trust the Lord, who judges the intent of every heart, to handle the rest and we’ll lose the anger and sleep peacefully.

Against You and You Only Have I Sinned, O Lord

If the object of our wrath is a friend or neighbor, or even the person lying in the bed next to us, it’s a good idea to patch things up with them.  But remember the sin is against God. By judging other people’s motives and meting out real or imagined punishment we’ve tried to make ourselves like Him.  Remember, He said, “It is mine to avenge, I will repay” (Hebr. 10:30). That means we’re not to worry about it.

Anger gives the devil a foothold (location or space) in our life. Footholds become strongholds (fortresses) and can be very difficult to demolish.  The anger that spews from them can compromise our witness, steal our joy, and impede our healing.  As the Lord’s brother said, Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires (James 1:19-20). Good advice.  Selah. 10-09-10

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

 


Reblogged from Grace thru Faith

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

• Forgiveness
• Grace
• Parables
• Past Featured

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matt. 18:21-35)

Most people have read the first part of Matthew 18. It outlines a procedure for taking to task a believer who has sinned against you. Many an aggressive stance has been justified with this passage. But in my time as a pastor and counselor, I was surprised at how few of those applying the procedure had read the rest of the chapter. While chapter breaks are not inspired, and Peter’s question to the Lord about forgiveness (vs. 21) could have been asked at another time, it does appear next in sequence to the procedure for righting a wrong.

How many petty disputes could be dropped if put into the context of this parable? How would they rate in a comparison to what the Lord has forgiven in us? Do we, having been forgiven so much, refuse to forgive our brothers and sisters even a little? And if so, what are the real consequences?

The Rest Of The Story

We’ve often discussed the nature of parables; how they’re heavenly stories put into an earthly context and how the major characters always symbolize others. In the case of this parable the King is the Lord, you and I are His servants, the debts we owe represent our sins, and the jailer is Satan.

As to the debts owed, two denominations of money are mentioned, the 10,000 talents the servant owed the king and the 100 denarii the servant was owed by a fellow servant. Let’s take the easy one first. Almost everyone agrees that a denarius was equivalent to one day’s wages. If 100 days equaled about 1/3 of a working year then repaying that size debt would require about 4 months of an average person’s income.

Since a talent was both a measure of weight (about 85 lbs. or 34 kg.) and of money, its value is much more difficult to define, but the most frequent description I found in my research is that it would have approximated 15 times an average person’s annual income. If so, then a debt of 10,000 talents would require 150,000 years of an average person’s income to re-pay.

And that’s the first point. The King had forgiven a debt the servant couldn’t have repaid in a thousand lifetimes, and did so simply because he was asked to. The servant on the other hand demanded full and immediate payment from a friend for a much, much smaller sum. Now 4 months wages is a debt worth collecting, and forgiving an amount that size would be a major sacrifice for most people. 

But the issue is not the legitimacy or even the size of the debt, it’s the comparative value. Shouldn’t being released from the burden of a debt so large he could never repay it have made the servant even a little more forgiving toward his brother?

The servant’s demand for payment demonstrated his lack of gratitude for what the King had done for him, and that’s what aroused the King’s anger. Summoning the Jailer, the King ordered his servant punished until he repaid all he owed.

If The Shoe Fits …

Our debt of sin against the Lord is similarly impossible to repay, but in the Lord’s case He can’t simply overlook it. His requirement for justice demands the debt be paid in full. Knowing we could never pay it, He sent His Son to pay it for us. This freed Him to completely and unconditionally forgive us just because we ask Him to. Don’t forget, from the Lord’s point of view we were all murderers, adulterers, blasphemers and thieves when He forgave us (Ephe 2:1-5). These are all crimes punishable by death. We’ve been forgiven so much, isn’t even a significant sacrifice justifiable under the circumstances? What offense would be too large to forgive in others when compared with what the Lord has forgiven in us?

Our unwillingness to forgive legitimate sins others commit against us demonstrates our ingratitude for what the Lord has done for us. It’s the result of the typical human double standard wherein we demand justice from others while expecting mercy for ourselves. This ingratitude is itself a sin and like all unconfessed sin can cause us to miss out on blessings we might have otherwise received.  It also leaves us open to attack by our enemy which may even subject us to torment.  That’s why, in the parable, the jailer represents Satan.

Union And Fellowship

Like the servant and the King our relationship with the Lord consists of 2 components, union and fellowship.  Union comes with salvation and is unconditional and eternal.   The servant didn’t stop being a servant to the King because of his behavior, and neither do we ever stop being the children of our Lord because of ours.  When He went to the cross, Jesus took all our sins with Him and because of His death we have been forgiven for every one of them (Colossians 2:13-14).

But fellowship is conditional and temporal. It concerns the relationship we cultivate with the Lord in the here and now.  Because of his behavior the servant had caused a rift in his relationship with the King.  He could only restore himself to the King’s good graces and repair the rift by repaying the debt. Our refusal to forgive others can like wise cause a rift in our relationship with the Lord.  We can only restore ourselves to the Lord’s good graces and repair the rift by forgiving those who have sinned against us (Matt. 6:14-15).
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Please note that John was writing to forgiven sinners, members of the church, advising us to confess and be forgiven even after we’ve been saved. We sin every day and His mercies are new every morning.  God forgives us whenever we ask, every time we ask. Asking is how we stay in fellowship with Him.

You Always Get What You Ask For

In summary, God’s Nature demands justice and fair play. Refusing to forgive others when we’ve been forgiven is a sin that causes a rift in our relationship with Him that only we can mend. Forgiving the one who sinned against us restores us to fellowship with the Lord and allows Him to forget there ever was a problem.   Selah 1-18-04

Which Thief Are You?

By STLloyd March 3, 2012 faith Forgiveness God thief

Reblogged from: Serve Him The Waiting
 
Forgiveness can be a hard thing for sinful humans to understand, embrace, and practice.
First of all, there is a difference between being hurt, and being harmed.  Most of us Christians are pretty quick to forgive when hurt, but often find it much harder when they have been harmed.  Allow me to explain.  If your husband forgets your birthday, it is understandable that your feelings would be hurt, but there is no real harm done by the momentary memory lapse, (unless of course you choose to hold it against him).   Now if your husband “forgets” the vow he made on your wedding day, and is unfaithful,  then very real harm has been done.   See the difference?  One offense is much weightier than the other.

When King David lusted after Bathsheba, acted upon that lust, then compounded the sin further by having Uriah killed, whom did he sin against?  (2 Samuel 11)
If Jesus died to balance the books on the sin of the whole world (Isaiah 53:6), then who am I to hold the sin of another against them, even if it was directed at me?  Regardless of whether that person has been washed in the blood, we who have nothing to recommend us to God other than the blood of Jesus that covers us, are in no position to exact payment from anyone who has done us wrong, and how much more egregious is it to hold a debt against a fellow blood-bought believer?  Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, says the prayer.

Matthew 18:23-35 says the Kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king.  Which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents, but when that servant could not pay, rather than sell the servant and his family and possessions in order to recoup the debt, the master had mercy and forgave him his debt.  Yet the servant then went right out to collect a debt from someone who owed a much lesser amount of money to him. 

Notice the passage does not say he was trying to collect this debt in order to pay back the master.  No, it was just a shakedown!  This guy wanted his money, but when his debtor could not pay, he had him thrown into prison until he should repay it all.   When the master learned that his servant had no compassion over a small debt even after he himself had been forgiven such great debt, the master was “wroth and delivered him to the tormenters until he should pay all that was due unto him”. (Vs. 34)

Since we know that salvation is eternal, does this mean if we don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive us?  Or does it simply mean what it says: we will be delivered unto the tormenters?  If we find ourselves wondering why the devil seems to have been given permission to personally torment us, why we are miserable under circumstances that seem unrelenting, perhaps it is time to go before the Lord and ask Him to reveal to us the unforgiveness in our own heart.  It is a sin, to hold someone else’s sin against them. But just as was the case with King David; against God, and God only, has my enemy sinned. (Psalm 51:4) 

 That person may have harmed me, but they did not sin against me, they sinned against God, and I have too.  We are each like the two thieves who hung on either side of Jesus when He died.  Both guilty. Which one went to paradise? The one who understood Jesus was hanging there because of that thief’s own personal sins.  The other guy was still casting stones and adding crimes to his own rap sheet right up until his last breath. 
Which thief are you?

Emotional Amputees and Forgiveness

Another aspect of hurt and forgiveness.
Written and posted by Jean-Louis

Note: I am not a doctor or a professional counselor. My reflections on the subject of pain and hurt stem from meditating on the Word of God and my own observations and experiences.
                                             ---------------------------------
Our physical senses are designed in such a way that the signals they provide help us in gathering information to apprehend the world around us and to function in it.
At the physiological and neurological level, if a limb or a finger is amputated, the amputee can feel physical pain where there is no more limb.

Could the same be said of the emotional level? Sometimes the same thing can happen in the loss a loved one or the dissolution of a marriage relationship through separation or divorce. Or it could be the end of a long friendship in which we have been betrayed. The pain we feel is real because so much of ourselves had been invested in that person at different levels of intimacy.

The association between the person, the intimacy and the pain is present because of the chemical/electrical impulses in our brain that stimulates the cerebral cortex every time we think of the person or an event associated with the person. The Lord can heal the physical part if physical harm has taken place through prayer or the intervention of a doctor, we can grieve and time lessens the pain, but if the person has not learned to dissociate the memory in the past triggering the painful reaction in the present, emotional bondage can occur.

Is it possible to be free of our guilt feelings, of our sense of not being forgiven or unforgiving and of any of the other tricks Satan uses to keep us in emotional and spiritual bondage? This is why it's so important to keep the helmet of salvation on. Salvation in Hebrew or Greek means more than just being born again, it means health, being made whole, being unfragmented, being one in mind, body, Spirit and soul. This is the way I felt for the first time in my life when I was 22 and the Holy Spirit came and literally washed me clean of my sin with His Light and His Word.
 

It is my opinion that the invisible parts that have been cut out from us through the breaking off a relationship are similar to the physical amputation. But one must resist the temptation of continuing placing blame on the offending party for our having been cut up and having been robbed emotionally once we have forgiven. If not, we just lock ourselves into a jail of our own making with the key inside the cell ready for our use whenever we desire to be free from the bondage of unforgiveness more than our desire to see the other person suffering as a just retribution so they can understand and feel what we are going through.

Jesus commanded us to forgive. Do you remember that He also said to pluck our eye out if it offends us or to cut our hand off if it offends us? I believe He was talking about a spiritual operation performed by the Holy Spirit when we recognize our inability to do God's will without His strength and help. 

Notice that He said "one eye" and "one hand". We have two eyes and two hands, but one heart which to me means that when our heart is focused on the Lord, our eye (singular) will be full of light. Matthew 6:22. " the light of the body is the eye, if therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light".

Is it possible to exercise faith and live in unbelief at the same time, thus denying the power of the Word and the blood covenant and negating the blessing of freedom that comes as part and parcel of our inheritance? 

Our eyes can focus only on one thing at a time. James illustrates the need to warn us against being divided by the use of our tongue in James 3:10: "Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing.... Can both fresh water and salt water come from the same spring? ...Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

Psalm 18: 28 declares: "You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning,my God turns my darkness into light". Same Psalm verse 27: "You save the humble, but bring low those whose eyes are haughty."

If we humble ourselves, stop being proud, (haughty eyes), self-sufficient and independent and focus our eyes on the Lord, by the power of His Holy Spirit, He will answer our humble request and give us a pure, undivided heart, one that will be attentive to His voice. Psalm 43: 3 says: "Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me". The truth of the Word without the Spirit to illuminate it is without effect upon the human hearts and minds. Both go together, just like truth and love.

I love this passage in Isaiah, it describes so well the one who in his ignorant condition seeks the light of God and the other one who seeks his own enlightenment because he is proud and independent.
In Isaiah chapter 50: 10- 11 the LORD says:
"Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant,
Let him who walks in the dark who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.But now all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches,
Go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze,

this is what you shall receive from my hand; you will lie down in torment".

Following the parallel with emotional pain, I believe that it is possible to remember the person, the memories of the time spent together, good and bad, constructive and destructive without feelings of rancor, resentment or bitterness and unforgiveness. It is as if we were observing a situation without being negatively emotionally involved. And at other times, when we find ourselves dwelling on our past and anger and indignation rise in us, it is possible at that time to stop bitterness from growing again by choosing to ask God’s forgiveness and blessing on that person’s life. We have released once again that person and used the key that God provided to keep us out of a jail of our own making. 
 

Jean-Louis.

PS: By the way, after I had already written this reflection, the testimony of a friend of mine, amputee, who lost both his legs from the hips down confirmed what I surmised in the case of physical loss of a limb. As I talked with him, I was able to get a clearer picture and distinguish between two aspects of the real although invisible presence of the cut off limb. He explained that he is aware of his limb being still attached to his body and its feelings.
However at other times, the limbs hurt and the pain is real, not imagined as we would think.