Risk Forgiveness - He Said
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12
The woman pushed open the front door of her home and stepped inside. In the reflection of the hallway mirror, she saw movement. She tried to run but it was too late. The man pounced, pinning her against the wall, pressing his forearm across her neck.
“Just relax,” he whispered. “You’ll enjoy this.”
She did not. For the next few hours she remained a hostage in her home while an escaped rapist and murderer assaulted her. During one of their “interchanges” her Bible crashed to the floor, landing next to a busted lamp. Her bookmark remained on the nightstand. Because her eyes were the only part of her body free to move, she read the Lord’s Prayer. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
“O God, how can I? Not him. Not after what he’s done.”
She sobbed. As she cried she remembered another time when she’d wept, the evening she’d given her life to Christ. That night her addiction to prescription drugs, wounds from a failed marriage, and years of lying and stealing had been lifted from her shoulders. The burden vanished during a moment of forgiveness. In that secret place deep in her heart, she read the bookmark again and heard the words anew. “Forgive us… in the same way we forgive others.”
“God, I don’t know if I can,” she prayed, “but you did so I’ll try.”
She stopped resisting him. He grew bored, removed the tape from her mouth and they began to talk, first about prison, then about his own sexual abuse. She listened, not as a caged animal seeking a way to escape, but as another human being, beaten and broken, scarred by her own mistakes.
A bullhorn sounded. Police officers surrounded her house.
“Why don’t you scream for help?” he asked. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Yes, but not of you. Not anymore. I’m scared for you. For what they’ll do when you surrender.”
He said he was hungry. She cooked him breakfast. He took his coffee black. She made it strong because he said in prison the coffee was weak, like the men who gathered in gangs and beat him.
At last he said, “You’re free to go.”
“No. When I leave they’ll storm the house and probably kill you. If that happens I wouldn’t be able to visit you in prison.” Taking his hand she said, “We’ll go out together.”
She opened the front door and, walking ahead, covered him with her body. Covered him the same way Christ covers us. She risked her life to save his.
To risk forgiveness is to risk death but there is life and liberty in mercy. Who are you holding hostage through anger and guilt?
Release them today and let them go free.
The Depth of my Debt - She Said
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12
Recently, I turned up a box of old letters and journals. Staring at the mildewed box, I pondered sending it straight to the trash without a second glance. But I couldn’t. I knew without sliding away the top, it held the history of a soured relationship and a failed marriage that had stolen my self-worth. I was left broken. Now 30 years later, I wasn’t sure I could ever forget the pain of the past.
Pulling my shirt collar over my nose, I lifted the lid. Page after page of journal notes and diary entries forced me to relive the hurt I’d felt toward my ex-husband.
My hands shook as I read: I can’t give anymore. There’s nothing left, nothing to offer. I’m broken. No money, no self-worth. Lord, I don’t have an ounce of hope. The price of hope is too high.
I felt un-savable as bitterness hovered over my heart.
Jesus instructed us to forgive our debtors. How could He expect that from me? This man had crushed my spirit and broken my heart. No, my capacity to forgive was gone. He’d robbed me of that, first.
Each time I fail to forgive, I hammer the crucifixion nails deep into Jesus’ palms. In my sin I crush Him. That's when I saw it...the outstretched arms of Christ - His words calling me to “let it go.”
Even in the facade of our goodness, we all carry debt. Most is buried deeper than we care to search, but Jesus sees it, seeks it and forgives. Now that’s love.
I released my debt, the trunk of angry letters and the memories of his drunken actions. The debt was more than I could bear, but Christ tossed it on His shoulders. The beam of the cross lifted from me and dug deep into His beaten back. Jesus carried it away.
And He’ll carry yours, too, if you’ll let him. Release the agony of the past and trust it into the hands of the one who will save you.
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Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are friends and cofounders of ChristianDevotions.us. They cowrite the popular He Said, She Said devotions and host Blog Talk Radio's Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! along with Scott McCausey. Eddie and Cindy travel and speak at conferences across the country and they are available to speak at your church or conference. Contact them at cindy@christiandevotions.us.
Do you sense something vital missing from you relationship with your spouse, children, and God? Try He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion. This compilation of 54 devotions includes scripture verses, space for journaling, individual prayers and words of wisdom from two of today's funniest and insightful Christian authors. This heart-warming collection of stories will inspire you to reach for the true source of joy: a life lived for and through God. These deeply personal devotions offer biblical insights and spiritual truths from the perspective of one man and one woman.
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This compliments my blog post today: REMODELING 101
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Tomorrow's post: RUNNING TO WIN
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