Sunday, July 26, 2015

Forgiving the Unforgivable

by Berni Dymet
Matt. 5:43-44 "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."
I was interviewing a woman called Lorraine recently - whose son was hit by a drunk driver and left to die.  Now, if that driver had stopped to help - her son would probably still be alive today. 

What does forgiveness mean in a situation like that?
What struck me about Lorraine - was that the pain of her loss - a mother's pain - was still so raw in her heart.  But in the middle of all that, she was determined to forgive. 
And I've watched her since - the way she's healed - is so amazing.  She can never ever change what happened.  No form of justice can ever bring her son back. 

Jesus once said - love your enemies.  I think those three words sum up what it means to forgive.  Is it easy?  No.  But my hunch is that for Lorraine, as hard as it would have been to forgive that drunk driver, it was a whole bunch easier than carrying around the cancer of unforgiveness for the rest of her days.

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