“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on
the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:43-45
The literal meaning of the word “forgiveness” in the New Testament is “to
release; to hurl away; to free yourself.” The only way to break the chain or
cycle of hurtfulness is to stop and ask forgiveness. This allows a relationship
to start over and begin anew. The Russian writer, Solzhenitsyn, believed
forgiveness is what truly makes us different from animals. Only humans can
perform the most unnatural act of forgiveness that transcends the relentless law
of nature.
A young Iranian lady, we’ll call Fatima, was full of hatred towards her
mother-in-law. For fifteen years her mother-in law was her enemy and there was a
great deal of enmity in the family.
Several times Fatima had even tried to kill her mother-in-law. Once she put
poison in her soup hoping to kill her. The mother-in-law felt very sick after
that and was taken to the hospital. The doctors took the poison out of her
stomach and were able to save her life. On another occasion she had beaten her
mother-in-law so badly that the ambulance took her to the hospital and again her
life was saved. Other times she tried to kill her mother-in-law, but every time
her life was saved miraculously.
The main reason for the hatred between Fatima and her mother-in-law was
Fatima’s marriage to her son. The mother-in-law had even gone so far as to
contact different witches in order to bring a curse on the life of Fatima.
One day Fatima got hold of the JESUS DVD and watched it. The love of
Jesus had a great impact on her life. When she heard one of Jesus’ teachings
that says: “Love your enemies and bless those who curse you,” she was deeply
moved. She was especially touched by the fact that Jesus died on the cross for
the sake of His enemies and even asked God to forgive them. At that moment
Fatima fell on her knees and asked Jesus to come into her heart and change her.
She turned over her entire life to Jesus. After that she sensed this deep love
in her heart towards her mother-in-law.
After that experience, Fatima visited her mother-in-law taking flowers and
sweets for her. She fell on her knees in front of her and asked for her
forgiveness for all the bad things she had done against her. Fatima told her
that her life was changed and Jesus had created a new love in her heart towards
her. The mother-in-law in turn asked Fatima to forgive her for all the curses
she had tried to bring into her life. She also gave her life to Jesus as the
result of her daughter-in-law’s evangelism. They entered into a beautiful
relationship with one another from that moment onwards.
RESPONSE: Today I will ask forgiveness—as Jesus said—of people I have
hated and treated poorly.
PRAYER: Thank You Father for Your example in loving the just and the
unjust.. Help me to practice this as Your son or daughter.
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