Another Forgiveness Story

General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley: “I never forgive and I never forget.” To which Wesley replied: “Then, sir, I hope that you never sin.”

In my last two posts I wrote about what Jesus said about forgiveness in Matthew 18. Peter asked Jesus, “How often should I forgive my brother, seven times?" (Verse 21). And Jesus answered, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

Then, as He often did, Jesus told a story. At the end of this parable of the unmerciful servant Jesus says, “Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?”

Forgiveness is not always easy. But those of us who call ourselves disciples of Jesus, it is necessary. As C.S. Lewis said, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”

Here is another forgiveness story:

It was five days before Christmas when a stranger approached ten-year-old Christopher Carrier, claiming to be a friend of his father. "I want to buy him a gift, and I need your help," said the stranger. Eager to do something good for his dad, Chris climbed aboard a motor home parked up the street.

The driver took Chris to a remote field, claiming to be lost, and asked Chris to look at a map. Suddenly Chris felt a sharp pain in his back. The stranger had stabbed him with an ice pick. The man drove the wounded boy down a dirt road, shot him in the left temple, and left him for dead in the alligator-infested Florida Everglades.

Chris lay wounded for six days until a driver found him. Chris miraculously survived his injuries, though he was blind in his left eye. Because he was unable to identify his attacker, police could not make an arrest. For a long time young Chris remained frightened, despite police protection. Finally at an invitation given after a church hayride, Chris trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior. He recalls, "I was overwhelmed with emotion; because I knew I had never really accepted and personally met the Savior." This turning point in Chris’s life came three years after the attack. At age 15 Chris shared his story for the first time. He eventually decided to pursue full-time ministry, helping others find the peace he had discovered in Christ.

Over twenty years later on September 3, 1996 a detective told Chris over the phone that a man had confessed to the crime that had cost him his left eye. The man’s name was David McAllister. Chris made plans to visit the feeble and now blind man, living in a nursing home. The strong young man Chris remembered was now a broken, humbled 77-year-old.

Chris learned from the detective some of the background of what had happened years ago. McAllister had been hired by Chris’s father to work as a nurse for an ailing uncle. Chris’s dad had caught McAllister drinking on the job and had fired him. The senseless attack on Chris had been motivated by revenge.

As Chris now talked to the old man, at first McAllister denied knowing anything about the kidnapping. As Chris revealed more about himself, the old man softened and eventually apologized. Chris said, "I told him, ’What you meant for evil, God has turned into a wonderful blessing.’" Chris told his attacker how God had allowed his wounds to become open doors to share the good news of Christ.

Chris went home and told his wife and kids about meeting the man who had tried to kill him. The entire family began almost daily visits to McAllister’s nursing home. During one Sunday afternoon visit, Chris popped the most important question he had yet asked McAllister: "Do you want to know the Lord?" McAllister said yes. Both men basked in forgiveness as McAllister gave his heart to Christ. A few days later McAllister died, peacefully, in his sleep.

Carrier says it is not a story of regret, but of redemption. "I saw the Lord give that man back his life, and so much more," Chris said. "I can’t wait to see him again someday; in heaven." (Citation: Adapted from article by Adam Myrick in the Southwestern News (Fall 2000))

You can read more of Chris' story at:The Baptist Standard.

 Do you have a forgiveness story?

Jesus’ Story of Forgiveness

In my last post I wrote about what Jesus said about forgiveness in Matthew 18. Peter asked Jesus, “How often should I forgive my brother, seven times?" (Verse 21). And Jesus answered, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

Then, as He often does, Jesus tells a story. It goes something like this: There was a slave who owed the king 10,000 talents. (Now if a talent was worth a dollar, most of us would think that would be a lot of money. But a talent was really equal to about 15 years wages! If the average annual income for us is $50,000, one talent would be worth $750,000. The slave owed 10,000 times that amount: that would be the equivalent of $7,500,000,000 – 7.5 billion dollars!)

How this servant ended up owing such a huge debt, Jesus doesn’t say. This fellow was a slave, and therefore had little personal earnings, if he earned the common wage of his day and gave all his income to the king, it would take him 150,000 years to pay off the debt!

I think Jesus used such a high amount (an impossible amount to pay back) to show how much we are in debt to God because of our sin. Remember, Jesus is talking about forgiveness. The impossibly huge debt shows how much I need to be forgiven by God. Just as the slave could never pay back what he owed, we could never pay back what we owe to God.

The king decides to settle his accounts, he calls the slave in, and since there is no way that the slave can pay, he orders him and his whole family thrown into prison. The slave cries out "just a little more time, and I will repay!" The king decides to have mercy on the man, and he completely cancels the debt! Wow!

Augustus Toplady wrote the song, Rock of Ages Cleft for Me – the second verse expresses so clearly the huge debt we owed and our inability to pay for it:

Could my tears forever flow, could my zeal no languor know,

These for sin could not atone, Thou must save and Thou alone

In my hand no price I bring, simply to thy cross I cling

If the story ended there we could all cheer for the master and the one he forgave. But Jesus continues the story and adds a twist.

The slave leaves and on his way out he finds a friend who owes him 100 denari. (A denarus was worth about a day’s wages, so he owed him about $15,000 in today’s money. This is no small amount, but it is absolutely nothing compared to the huge amount that he had just been forgiven.)

The slave grabbed his friend by the throat and said "Pay what you owe" The debtor said, “just a little more time, and I’ll repay!" the slave would have none of it and had him thrown into prison. When the king got wind of it, he summoned him and said "You wicked servant, I cancelled 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.

Understand this: unforgiveness is a self-inflicted prison. It is self-induced torture. It is a ball-and-chain of your own making. No matter what anybody did to you first, forgiveness or unforgiveness is your own choice.

After all, if it weren’t a choice, would we be told so many times to do it? If we had no say in the matter, would a loving God tell us to forgive? If it were impossible to forgive, would we be told to do it?

- Colossians 3:13 - Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

- Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

- Luke 11:4 - Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ "

And some of Jesus’ own words are even more severe:

- Matthew 6:14-15 - For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

- Mark 11:25 - And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven… For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:37-38)

These tie in with the conclusion of Jesus’ story:

- Matthew 18:35 - "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Jesus seems to imply that the extent that you forgive others is how much God will forgive you. Is that a scary thought? It sure looks as if God considers our forgiveness of others as important as His forgiveness of us.

What Jesus Said About Forgiveness

The mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released the little girl’s grip and said comfortingly to the boy, "There, there. She didn’t mean it. She doesn’t know that hurts." He nodded his acknowledgement, and she left the room.

As she started down the hall she heard the little girl scream. Rushing back in, she asked, "What happened?"

The little boy replied, "She knows now."

Jesus’ "Parable of the Unmerciful Servant" is preceeded by a succinct set of guidelines on what to do when a brother sins against you. (Matthew 18:15-17) Mark Roberts has done a whole series on this subject. Here is a summary:

1. First, deal with it one-on-one. Try to keep the matter private. Hopefully, this will be all that’s necessary to restore fellowship and friendship. (Verse 15)

2. If that doesn’t work, get help from others. (Verse 16)

3. If you aren’t successful with the first two steps, share the issue with the church. (Verse 17a)

4. If he refuses to listen to the church, put him out of the church. (Verse 17b)

If we would follow Christ’s clear commands we would have great blessings:

1. The blessing of heavenly power! (Verse 18)

2. The blessing of answered prayer! (Verse 19)

3. The blessing of Christ’s presence! (Verse 20)

Jesus has just given some teaching on restoring a church member who has sinned against you, and Peter comes and asks him, “How often should I forgive my brother, seven times?" (Verse 21)

We need to keep in mind here that a Jewish custom was floating around during this time that you were able to forgive a person three times for one specific sin. After that, you didn’t have to. So, when Peter said, “up to seven times” he was actually willing to go beyond the norm.

Jesus’ Answer on Forgiveness -- Christ answered the question with hyperbole. We aren’t to stop forgiving our brother at his seventh offence against us, but go on seventy times seven.

In other words, we aren’t really supposed to be counting. We’re supposed to be forgiving!