Monday, June 14, 2010

"as we forgive"

If I'm learning anything right now, I'm learning grace and forgiveness. The past few weeks have been some of the hardest of my life. But God has shown me just how much I have been trying to control the whole sitation and other people involved. He has convicted me of many other things as well. But I think most importantly, He has reminded me of the cross and the power of it. And how it is true that everything in life comes back to what God did that day. It really IS finished... and life is reminding ourselves everyday to GIVE UP and GIVE IN to His forgiveness... before it's too late.

A recent trip to my church in Seattle (Bethany Community) introduced me to this film called as we forgive, a film about the recent genocide victims and perpatraitors in Rwanda being reconcilled through forgiveness. It blew me away. I think God is showing me that though it is AMAZING to see and hear about people being healed of various illnesses and that does show the power of God... that maybe fogiveness shows it even more. Its really not a humans gut reation to forgive someone. First reaction is revenge or justice. And justice is a good thing, a thing we should all seek. Yet, "all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way..." though a person might have wronged us, maybe in ways unthinkable like murdering our families, we know that we have also wronged others. And in the end and ultimately have wronged God, in ways we ALL cannot repay. Because of this, "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6. We all have been wronged. We all have wronged others. The Creator of the heavens and the earth, of you and me laid ALL of that on His shoulders. Below is a quote from Savari, a man who killed 7 people in the genocide followed by a quote from Rosaria, a survivor of the genocide whos sister and family were killed by Savari.

Personally, I never believed that I deserved mercy. I'd put myself in a place where I thought God's mercy could not reach. I condemned myself because I felt that death itself was not enough payment for all the wrong I'd done. - Savari
How can I refuse to forgive when I'm a forgiven sinner too? According to God's Word, I am called to forgive him for I did not create this man. Even my family that he killed- I did not create them either. His crime was against God who created the people he killed. So I placed everything in the hands of God.- Rosaria

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