Category: Forgiveness

on • Twanna Henderson

I do not know about you, but I have discovered that being on the receiving end of forgiveness is easier than having to forgive others.

The difficulty arises most often when I am asked to extend forgiveness.

A woman badly hurt me a few years ago. She said hurtful things about me, and her words cut deeply. When I was a young girl, we used to smugly sing, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But, boy, is that untrue!

To be honest, it took me a while to work through the betrayal and disappointment of that situation. Getting to a place of forgiveness was very difficult.

God’s grace prevents our hurts and disappointments from turning our hearts to poison.

God reminded me of Joseph in the Bible (Genesis 37–50). Joseph had lots of reasons not to extend grace. His brothers despised him, threw him in a pit, abandoned him, and sold him to Egyptians. His master wrongfully imprisoned him, and largely forgot him.

But God’s grace was extended to him, and eventually Joseph was released from prison and elevated to the position of second in command in Egypt.

Even more amazing is the forgiveness Joseph extended to his brothers when they were finally reunited.

Joseph responded to their repentance by saying, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.” (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph did something brave: he mercifully forgave his brothers, who despised him and abandoned him to die.

Likewise, when we are hurt by the actions of others, we can draw on the grace that God has lavished on us to give to others.

Today, my heart has finally healed from my painful relationship.

Even more so, I am grateful for the chance to extend forgiveness and grace to others as our gracious Father does for us.

*For further reflection, listen to Ephesians 4.

  1. Ecclesiastes 4

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on • Natasha Sistrunk Robinson

“Truth is, Women are the Unsung Heroes of This World.”

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I reflect on the role women have played in my own spiritual formation. By and large, women have been the agents of grace in my life teaching me how to live, grow, stand tall, pray, take God at his Word, worship, praise, and, perhaps most importantly, laugh out loud.

Moses, who led the children of Israel out of Egypt was also influenced by women. In fact, the Exodus story began with two women rescuers: the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah. When Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all the Hebrew boys, they refused. They rejected the murderous plan of the empire because they feared God more than the king (Exodus 1:15-21).

It was a significant risk to defy Pharaoh, and by doing so, these women saved vulnerable lives while looking death, danger, and darkness in the face. That was the first time women saved Moses’ life.

Next, Pharaoh ordered that all the Hebrew infant boys be thrown into the Nile while the girls would be spared (Exodus 1:22). The Nile River was a symbol of life to the Egyptians, but it offered a grave reminder to the Hebrews that their boys had no right to live. This genocide plot caused Moses’ mother to spring into action to save her son’s life.

Then Pharaoh’s daughter rescued Moses when she drew him out of the water. When she opened the basket, she immediately noticed that it was a Hebrew baby—but she did not mention that he was a boy.

Perhaps before Pharaoh’s daughter even saw the baby’s gender, Miriam jumped in to ask, “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.

“Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother. “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him (Exodus 2:7-9)

So baby Moses’ life was thrice saved from death: by the wisdom and courage of the midwives, by his mother’s plan, and by Pharaoh’s daughter’s compassion.

Without the leadership and obedience of the women in his life,  God’s plan for Moses would have been aborted. God’s grace was consistently revealed in Moses’ life through the presence of wise, faithful, and risk-taking women.When I think about my own life and how I have become a leader, it is impossible to separate my story from the women who have shaped me. Like Moses, my life has been saved by the sacrifices, contributions, and faithful obedience of women.

But the strong female influences in my early life were not due to the absence of faithful black men in my community. There were simply more women in my biological family. This is how women have consistently showed up to save my life, and I don’t know where I would be without them.

And women are the unsung heroes of Moses’ story. These women were leaders who served as God’s grace and protection for Moses to ensure that he would rise as a leader among his people to fulfil the purpose God had for his life.

God’s saving grace to all of us is often revealed through the bosoms, the hands, the teaching, the correction, the unconditional love, the sacrifices, the laughter, the truth telling and the risks of faithful women.

We must not forget to regularly acknowledge their leadership and thank God for them.

*For further reflection, listen to Exodus 1.

  1. Exodus 1

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Enjoy our conversation with Natasha here!

Adapted from “A Sojourner’s Truth” by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson. Copyright (c) 2018 by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson.

on • Janet Paige Smith

I had just made new friends. Now it was time to move again. As a military child, my life revolved around leaving one city and starting again in another. During my elementary school years, I felt the security of attending school on the military base. But, I had to venture out for my middle and high school and mix with students who had been together since kindergarten. With their cliques already established, newcomers had a hard time fitting in.

I desperately tried to join all the “popular” groups in my urgency to belong. The athletes. The smart kids. The rowdy crowd. Yet, it wasn’t long before they discovered I was an “imposter.” I was quickly ousted and labeled some kind of misfit.

My childhood memories of being left out resurfaced. My longing to belong was strong, and I mixed in with the world until the shame of my sins was unbearable. I sought Christ’s forgiveness and chose to only belong to him.

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. ~ Colossians 2:13

I soon discovered that my challenges as a military child prepared me, in part, for my adult life as a Christian. Once I became obedient to God’s standard of living, I was again left out. It hurt when my coworkers did not invite me to gatherings at their homes when they knew I wouldn’t party with them. At lunchtime, I hurried to my office to eat alone at my desk. No one wanted to sit with me after I didn’t join in their gossip or cursing. I even choked back tears at church after being passed over for an opportunity because I defended a fellow believer.

I have since learned that the Bible speaks of many left out, even injured and killed, because they refused to blend in with others. Even Jesus was criticized for hanging out with undesirables and sinners.

Now, as I grow stronger in my faith, I know Jesus is always with me even when people walk out of my life or leave me out.

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. ~ Psalm 27:10

*For deeper reflection, listen to Psalm 27.

on • Rebecca Friedlander

Life doesn’t always make sense, especially moments that hurt. It’s such a comfort to know that we have a Father in heaven who loves to restore what the enemy has stolen.

One beautiful tip for choosing healing can be found in the Book of Philemon, written by the Apostle Paul. Paul’s friend Philemon was a pastor whose runaway slave had met Paul and converted to Christianity. The former slave wanted to make things right with his former master, probably having some stolen goods, but he was afraid of being beaten if caught. So Paul penned a letter, beseeching the pastor to be kind for the sake of Christ. He also offered to help make things right.

“If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (Philemon 1:18-19a),” Paul vowed.

This short letter offers a beautiful appeal to forgiveness, and tradition says that Philemon did forgive the former slave.

One day the Lord prompted me,

What if I wrote you this letter? Suppose I came to you asking, for the sake of our friendship, that you forgive someone who wronged you?

Suddenly I realized that Paul’s letter is a picture of what Jesus asks of us. He never reasons away guilt or denies the hurt caused.

Instead, he asks us to forgive for his sake. Then he goes a step further.

If your offender owes you anything, put that on my account. I will repay.

This idea is a powerful key to the forgiveness process!

“Father,” I often pray, “I choose to forgive this person because of how You’ve shown me mercy.”

Then I take a quick inventory of what I felt “robbed” of. Was my self-worth robbed? Did I feel taken advantage of? Am I feeling the loss of a friendship? Whatever it is, I know that my Father in Heaven desires wholeness for me. With this in mind, I’ll pray,

“Lord, I put these needs on your account and ask you to meet them. You are a good Father who delights to give us good gifts!”

I can’t tell you how many times God has responded to this prayer! By shifting my expectations to focus on God whose very name is Faithful and True, I’m practicing forgiveness and creating an opportunity for Christ to restore in his way and time.

He is the faithful Father!

*For deeper reflection, listen to Philemon 1.

on • Shannon Popkin

A scandalous scene was unfolding at Simon the Pharisee’s dinner party. A prostitute had crept in and was crouched, weeping at the feet of Jesus. As her tears mingled with her emptied-out perfume, making trickles in his dirty feet, she wiped them with her hair and kissed them clean.

“If this man were a prophet,” Simon thought to himself, “he would know what kind of woman is touching him.” (Luke 7:39). Since Jesus was a prophet, he answered Simon’s thoughts with a story.

“If a man forgave two debts—one for 500 pieces of silver another for 50—which debtor would love him more?” He asked.

Jesus used this comparison story to reveal the true comparison story happening at Simon’s table.

The first debtor is the woman. She has sinned greatly, and contrary to Simon’s supposition, Jesus knows it. Yet, he sees her sin as forgiven. Here at his feet is a daughter of the kingdom, who will one day dance—forgiven and clean—on streets of gold!

But who’s the second debtor? It’s Simon. In his story, Jesus places the Pharisee and a prostitute side-by-side as two sin debtors who cannot pay. Obviously, Simon sees it differently. His condescending disgust reveals his elevated sense of superiority, as he sees himself as a judge. Yet he has misjudged both the woman and Jesus!

By offering no kiss, no foot washing, and no anointing oil, Simon has just snubbed the only One who can forgive his sin. And the woman, with her extravagant love, has rightly elevated Him.

Friend, are you lifting yourself up as a judge with your condescending disgust toward others? Or are you crouched low at Jesus’s feet—a woman who is forgiven and clean?

“Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

*For deeper reflection, listen to Luke 7.

on • Maggie Bruehl

Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Is there a person in your life who is difficult to get along with?

I know there is in my life. They have hurt me in so many ways that it affects my character. Sometimes, I wonder if they harm me on purpose or if it’s just second-nature for them. Jesus, hanging on the cross, looked down and saw soldiers — the ones who had beat and ridiculed Him and who ultimately nailed His hands to the beam. They were gambling to see who could get His only possession: His bloodied clothes.

In that moment, Jesus’ character — who He was — rose above unimaginable pain. Seeing beyond the rough exterior of foreign, dirty soldiers, Jesus peered deep into their souls. He saw their pain from the past. He also saw their pain in the future. It all hinged on His forgiveness.

Would He be able to forgive these men? Would He be able to take on the sin of not only these people but of all humankind? Would He take on my sin? Even in His weakened and vulnerable state, Jesus did not give into anger, self-centeredness, self-righteousness, or revenge.

 

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing,” he pleaded, requesting forgiveness from His Father, who had the power to rain down fire on the soldiers. In that moment of human weakness, Jesus didn’t sin. He gave unselfishly of Himself and His rights to grant others something they didn’t deserve: forgiveness.

Do I still struggle to forgive? You bet I do! But just as Christ forgives those soldiers and me, I have the choice to look at the person who hurts me every time they wrong me and think, “Father, forgive them, for they really don’t know what they are doing.”

Pray and Respond
Who is the person or past situation that is difficult for you to forgive and what is something Jesus has forgiven you for? Pray that Jesus will give you the grace to forgive your difficult person, just as He has forgiven you.

*For deeper reflection, listen to Luke 23.