Forgiving the Unforgivable
Matthew 5:43,44 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly.
Over the last few days we’ve been chatting about forgiveness, and perhaps you’re thinking … well, come on Berni, let’s move on. We’ll do that tomorrow. But today I want to introduce you to a woman who had every reason not to forgive.
I was interviewing a woman called Lorraine recently, whose son was hit by a drunk driver and left to die. Now, if that driver had stopped to help, her son would probably still be alive today. But he didn’t, and so her son died from his injuries.
It’s easy for a guy like me to talk about forgiveness, but that subject cuts deep into the heart, touching many a hurt from the past. I mean, what does forgiveness mean in a situation like that?
What struck me about Lorraine was that the pain of her loss, a mother’s pain, was still so raw in her heart many years on. But in the midst of that, she was determined to forgive.
And I’ve watched her since. The way she’s healed is so amazing. She can never ever change what happened. No form of justice can ever bring her son back. But her choice to forgive has brought healing to her heart. Jesus once said this about forgiveness:
Matthew 5:43,44 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly.
Hmm … love your enemies and pray for them. Is it easy? No. But my hunch is that for Lorraine, as hard as it would have been to forgive the actions of that drunk driver – just leaving her son on the roadside to die completely alone – it was a whole bunch easier than carrying around the cancer of unforgiveness for the rest of her days.
Love your enemies and pray for them.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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