Father, Forgive Them

Father, Forgive Them...

As I thought about yesterday's post on forgiveness, my mind took me back to the crucifixion of Our Lord. It is impossible to imagine all that Jesus went through during that last week of his life on earth. Betrayed and abandoned by his closest friends, arrested and beaten, tortured and humiliated before his family and countrymen, and nailed to a Roman cross to bleed and suffer until his last breath. And yet he did not hate his tormentors. Instead he prayed for them, and asked God to forgive them "for they know not what they do." Why did he say those last words? His tormentors were responsible for his suffering. Of course they knew what they were doing, didn't they?

What did he mean by the words "they know not...?" Perhaps it was because they didn't know the full story, or how many lives would be affected by their actions. Perhaps it was because they had no way of knowing how they themselves would suffer and have to pay for their actions that week. We don't know for sure what he was thinking, but we do know what he was praying--"Father forgive them."

I remember only a few times in my life when I have felt betrayed and persecuted, and how difficult it was to find forgiveness in my heart for those who hurt me. But I found a way that has worked for me, and it might work for you if you find yourself in that situation. When someone at work or school or church of family has hurt your feelings, pray for them every day for two weeks, and in that prayer ask God to bless them with all the same blessings that you want for yourself. It isn't easy at first, but it gets better the more you try it. It is difficult to be angry and resentful for someone you are praying for each and every day. 

Maybe I really don't want to forgive them. Maybe I would rather see them suffer as I have. Those are natural feelings. But as I continue to pray for God to bless them with happiness and peace and good health--all the things I want for myself--my attitude toward them begins to change. I can't pray for them in that way for very many days without my attitude being altered. Over time, as I continue to pray for them, God's forgiveness enters my heart.  

I have no way of knowing how my prayers affect the other person. I only know how they affect me. I believe that Jesus was showing us the way God wants us to behave toward others who hurt us. Pray for them. Ask God to forgive them. And in the process we will find forgiveness in our heart as well.

[email protected]     https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B077YTVSJZ