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Forgiveness
CALL TO PRAYER
Title: Forgiveness
Date: 30/10/2021
By: Owusu Clifford S.
Acts 7:60 – And falling on his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
As I pondered on what message to write for today’s Call to Prayer and sought the direction of the Holy Spirit, I came across a trailer of a movie called “Emanuel” on Facebook. The movie is about the Power of Forgiveness, and it is based on a real-life story. A story about a horrible experience that a church (Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina) experienced on June 17, 2015.
On this date, a group of believers gathered on one Wednesday evening in their church to study the word of God as customary. Getting to the end of their study, a boy entered the church and was warmly welcomed by the twelve Christians. As they finished the Bible Studies and were sharing the benediction, this newcomer pulled out a gun and murdered nine of the twelve believers, including the head pastor, in cold blood.
As the killer was leaving the church, he found one woman hiding under a table and praying. The killer told her that he would let her live to tell the story. The incredible thing about the story is that two days after the incident, and the killer was facing trial, the family members of the deceased believers phoned into the court to express their forgiveness towards the killer, even when he showed no remorse and reiterated that he is not sorry for what he did. Isn’t this incredible?!
As I watched the trailer of this movie, it caught my attention to search more about the story on YouTube. I came across the interview of two of the survivors and the wife of the deceased pastor. From the interview, there is one line from one of the women that caught my attention. She said, “sometimes forgiveness may seem as though you are letting the other person off the hook, but you are actually letting yourself off the hook; because if you keep it, there is no healing”.
I have been marvelled by this story. Forgiveness can be a very difficult thing to do, and it requires grace, especially if the offender is not showing any remorse. However, forgiveness is for the forgiver not for the offender. You need to forgive to get healed. If unforgiveness sets in, the hurt can lead to hate. Jesus forgave his tormentors on the cross. Stephen forgave his killers while they stoned him to death. Other believers have done it in our time, so can you. Let it go and receive the best from God.
Prayer:
Let us thank God for His word and the answers to our prayers. Let us pray for the grace to forgive those who have wronged us and also the courage and boldness to admit our wrongdoings and ask for forgiveness from God and others.
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God bless you all
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