Forgive!

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,” Luke 6:23

Do you find it hard to forgive when someone has done you wrong? We are commanded to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and forgive them when they do us wrong (Eph. 4:23). But, what about those that don’t know Christ? What if someone tries to do you physical harm? Do we still have to love and    forgive them?

Chris Carrier was a ten-year-old boy in 1974 when David  Macalister abducted him, stabbed him several times with an  ice pick, shot him in the head, and left him for dead in the    Everglades. He remained unconscious for six days. Finally, he staggered out and was found by a hunter the day after      Christmas 1974. Unfortunately, they could not make an arrest even though they had a suspect because Chris could not pick him out of a police lineup. Twenty-two years later, in 1996, Chris came face to face with his assailant. Chris was informed that Mr. McAllister was a patient at the Greynolds Park Manor nursing home. The police were able to get McAllister to admit that he had taken Chris and left him in the Everglades. When Chris visited McAllister at the nursing home, he began to cry when he realized that the young man before him was the boy he had hurt and abandoned. Chris said this about that meeting, “He said he was sorry, and I told him I forgave him and that from now on, there would be nothing like anger or revenge between us, nothing except a new friendship.”

Chris ministered to Mr. McAllister frequently until he died. They often prayed together and read scripture.  Chris shared the Gospel with him, and not long before McAllister died, he       received Christ as savior. If anyone had a reason not to forgive someone, it would be Chris Carrier, yet instead of seeking      revenge, he befriended the man who tried to kill him when he was a ten-year-old boy. In doing so, God used him to bring   David Macalister to saving faith. One day the two men,  attacker, and victim will be together praising the one who  forgave them, both their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What say you, Christian? Is there anyone you are angry at because they have hurt you and you have refused to be at peace with that person (Romans 12:16)? We are most like   Christ when we forgive others.

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark