The Prodigal Pig

Luke 15:20 - So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (NIV)

As a boy, I worked summers on my uncle's pig farm. Every week, I pumped out the sewage pit running the length of the pig barn with the "honey wagon". 

One particular day, I backed up to the barn and pushed the suction hose between the large grates and into the liquid "soup" below.

Hearing squealing, I ran inside and jumped over the pen to where I had slid the hose down, and looked down to find that a pig had fallen into the "soup"!

I yelled across the yard for someone to "Get my uncle, and come quick!" 

I ran back into the barn, grabbed one of the grates over the sewage pit and swung down into the mess below. The liquid was well over my waist! 

The startled pig started a frantic swim for the far end with me pursuing. At the end of the pit I grabbed him by the ears and started my journey back to the open grate above. 

My uncle lowered a ladder, and I grabbed the slippery pig around his belly and lifted. Partway up the ladder, he kicked up a fight, and we both fell back under the surface. 

Sputtering and exasperated, I grabbed Mr Pig and this time got him high enough so that my uncle could grab him and pull him out. 

I was greeted with howls of laughter for my lifeguard efforts as I stood under the sun and got hosed down in my "birthday suit" to get cleaned off. My clothes were ruined and had to be buried.

I think of the rebellious son in Luke 15 who crested a hill and was spotted by his father "a long way off". Despite the repulsive condition of his son, the father ran to him, fell on his neck, and welcomed him with kisses. Such love surpasses our understanding.

Are you wandering? Do you feel no one notices you, no one cares? God knows and God cares. There is always a way back.

God has welcomed us into His presence. He has cleansed us from our sin through Jesus Christ. He has cleansed us and allowed us to sit in His banqueting house, despite our prodigal ways and the ravages of sin that mark us.

1 John 3:1 - How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (NIV)

Prayer: Father in heaven, help us to cultivate compassion for others in our lives. Help us to realize that with You, there is no such thing as a "disposable" human being. Today, if we are people who are wandering like the "prodigal" of whom Jesus spoke, give us the humility to return to You, to Your ways, to Your Word. Amen.

Don Copp dcopp@canada.com
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Thanks to http://daily.presbycan.ca

The Accuser and Martin Luther

Martin Luther the Reformer told of how the devil approached him one day and accused him of the enormous sin in his life. Satan laid out a long list of sins of which Luther was guilty, and thrust them under his nose in accusation.

Luther said to the devil, “Think a little harder; you must have forgotten some.” So the devil thought a little harder and added another few hundred to the list.

When the devil was finished, Luther said, “Okay, now take a pen and some red ink and write across that list 'The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.'”

James Emery White

Bitterness?

Bruce Goodrich was being initiated into the cadet corps at Texas A & M University. One night, Bruce was forced to run until he dropped -- but he never got up. Bruce Goodrich died before he even entered college.

A short time after the tragedy, Bruce's father wrote this letter to the administration, faculty, student body, and the corps of cadets: "I would like to take this opportunity to express the appreciation of my family for the great outpouring of concern and sympathy from Texas A & M University and the college community over the loss of our son Bruce. We were deeply touched by the tribute paid to him in the battalion. We were particularly pleased to note that his Christian witness did not go unnoticed during his brief time on campus."

Mr. Goodrich went on: "I hope it will be some comfort to know that we harbor no ill will in the matter. We know our God makes no mistakes. Bruce had an appointment with his Lord and is now secure in his celestial home. When the question is asked, 'Why did this happen?' perhaps one answer will be, 'So that many will consider where they will spend eternity.'"

Good Forgetters

Two little boys got into a fight. But the next morning Johnny took his cap and headed for Bobby’s house again. 

Surprised, an older member of the family said teasingly, "What! Going to play with him again? I thought you had a fight last night and was never going to have anything more to do with him? Funny memory you have." 

Johnny looked a little sheepish, dug his toe into the carpet for a moment, then flashed a satisfied smile as he hurried away. "Oh! Bobby and me’s good forgetters!" .

FORGIVING THE KILLERS OF HIS FAMILY

Around the time of the Korean War, Kim Joon-gon had seen 2,000 out of 20,000 people on Chunnam Island murdered by the Communists. They dragged him and his family outside their village where Kim’s father and wife were beaten to death and Kim was left for dead.

When he revived and sought safety at an acquaintance’s house, he was turned over to the Communists. Only the sudden appearance of an American ship off the island coast saved him this time, for the Communist soldiers hurried away to the battle.

Kim hid out in the countryside until the South Korean army captured the island. The Communists who had killed his wife and father were arrested. Because it was wartime, the police chief had authority to execute without a trial. But as the chief prepared to kill the men, Kim pleaded, "Spare them. They were forced to kill."

The police chief showed great surprise. "It was your family they killed! Why do you now want to spare their lives?"

Kim replied, "Because the Lord, whose I am and whom I serve, would have me show mercy to them."

The Communists were spared execution because of Kim’s plea. News of his action spread among other Communist supporters in the area. When Kim later climbed a mountain to preach to Communists hiding out, he was not killed.

Many of the Communists became Christians, and when Kim finally left the island there was a flourishing church of 108 members.

Have You Opened Your Letter?

A pastor friend recently told the true story of one of his church members, an attorney, who after meditating on several scriptures, decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months.

He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its Biblical basis and sent 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail.

One by one, the letters began to return, unsigned and undelivered.

Perhaps a couple people had moved away though not likely.

16 of the 17 letters came back to him because the clients refused to sign for and open the envelopes fearing that this attorney was suing them for their debts.

How profound! We owe a debt for our sin and God is willing to cancel it but too many people will not even open the letter that explains that.

Are you guilty of not opening your Bible and reading enough of God's Word?

OCTOBER BABY - THE STORY OF AN ABORTION SURVIVOR

OCTOBER BABY - THE STORY OF AN ABORTION SURVIVOR

Gianna Jessen

Gianna Jessen survived an abortion nearly 35 years ago. She was only two pounds when she was born with Cerebral Palsy, and doctors said she would never be able to hold up her head, crawl or walk. But she overcame all these obstacles. 

Then one day she met her birth mom, who had tried to abort her but she had survived that saline attempt. The bitterness, however, lived on. Strangely, it was the mother who was bitter. 

She told Jessen, “You are an embarrassment to me!” 

Jessen was so hurt by those biting words that greeted her from her birth mother. 

Fighting back the tears, Jessen regained her composure just long enough to tell her mother: “I forgive you.”

“I don’t want you to forgive me,” her birth mom responded. “I don’t want you to talk to me.”

And just like that, the conversation was over. Jessen has not seen her birth mother since. 

She could have chosen to be furious with her birth mother but she decided not to hold a grudge.

“There was so much anger on her side,” Jessen said.

Instead, she decided to forgive, just as she has been forgiven by her heavenly Father: “Over and over, I’ve chosen to let the Lord define me,” she said. “The Lord spoke to me, ‘You have to let it go.’”

By age 3, she was able to walk with the help of leg braces and a walker and by age 28—April 30, 2005—Jessen completed her first marathon (Boston), then ran another one (London) the following April.

For Jessen, it’s been a long journey: “When your father and mother forsake you, God takes you up.”

Sources: http://charismanews.com/culture/33049-the-story-behind-october-baby

http://www.giannajessen.com/main/index.html

The Prositutes and Their Children

The locals had gathered to protest and to threaten to demolish an old and dirty building that housed hundreds of prostitutes and their illegitimate children, a place they regarded as a great shame to the town. But they were in for a greater shame!

A few of the prostitutes stepped forward, pointed to the many fatherless and pitiful children and uttered these few but pungent words:

"Look at these children! Their fathers could be standing among you all now!"

The above incident sounds like a good example in our modern society of the story of the woman caught in adultery but who was rescued and forgiven of her sin by Jesus Christ. (John 8:1-11)

What is more important is not the outcome of the incident but the moral lessons it embodies. We are to be compassionate, merciful and forgiving when judging or punishing those regarded as wrong doers, being mindful that we are also fallible human beings.

Crimson Woo

Four Words

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.

The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband.

When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words.

What do you think were the four words?

The husband just said "I Love You, Darling!"

The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a 'life-giving'  behavior. The child is dead. Blaming his wife will not bring the child back to life. Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would never have happened. No point in attaching blame. She has also lost her only child. What she needs at that moment is consolation and sympathy from her husband. That is what he gives her.

Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or who is to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. We miss out some warmth in human relationship in giving each other support. After all, shouldn't forgiving someone we love be the easiest thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have. Do not multiply pain, anguish and suffering by refusing to forgive.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be more joy and fewer problems in the family, society and world.

Take off all your anger, envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears and you will find that living with others is actually not as difficult as you think...！

Amazing Forgiveness

In 1960, White police in South Africa attacked and killed 69 Black protesters in two minutes

The scene is a courtroom trial in South Africa. A frail black woman stands slowly to her feet. She is more than 70 years old. Facing her from across the room are several white security police officers. One of them, Mr. Van der Broek, has just been tried and found guilty in the murders of first the woman's son and then her husband. He had come to the woman's home, taken her son, shot him at point-blank and then burned the young man's body while he and his officers partied nearby.

Several years later Mr. Van der Broek and his cohorts returned to take away her husband, as well. For months, she heard nothing of his whereabouts. Then, almost two years after her husband's disappearance, Mr. Van der Broek came back to fetch her. How vividly she remembered that night. She was taken to a river bank where she was shown her husband, bound and beaten but still strong in spirit, lying on a pile of wood. The last words she heard from his lips as Mr. Van der Broek and his fellow officers poured gasoline over his body and set him aflame were, "Father, forgive them..."

Now the woman stands in the courtroom and listens to the confessions of Mr. Van der Broek. A member of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission turns to her and asks, "So what do you want? How should justice be done to this man who has so brutally destroyed your family?"

"I want three things," begins the old woman calmly, but confidently. "I want first to be taken to the place where my husband's body was burned so that I can gather up the dust and give his remains a decent burial."

She pauses, then continues. "My husband and son were my only family. I want, secondly, therefore, for Mr. Van der Broek to become my son. I would like for him to come twice a month to the ghetto and spend a day with me so I can pour out on him whatever love I still have remaining in me." "Finally," she says, "I would like Mr. Van der Broek to know I offer him my forgiveness because Jesus Christ died to forgive. This was also the wish of my husband. So, I would kindly ask someone to come to my side and lead me across the courtroom so I can take Mr. Van der Broek in my arms, embrace him and let him know he is truly forgiven."

As the court assistants come to lead the elderly woman across the room, Mr. Van der Broek faints, overwhelmed by what he has just heard. As he struggles for consciousness, those in the courtroom, family, friends, neighbors—all victims of decades of oppression and injustice—begin to sing, softly but assuredly, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me."

(Craig A. Smith, Sermon Illustrations for an Asian Audience, Manila: OMF Publishing, 2004)

Forgive Your Enemies

The preacher, in his Sunday's sermon, used "Forgive Your Enemies" as his subject. 

After a long sermon, he asked how many were willing to forgive their enemies. About half held up their hands. 

Not satisfied he harangued for another twenty minutes and repeated his question. This time he received a response of about 80 percent. 

Still unsatisfied, he lectured for another 15 minutes and repeated his question. With all thoughts now on Sunday dinner, all responded except one elderly lady in the rear.

"Mrs. Jones, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?"

"I don't have any."

"Mrs. Jones, that is very unusual. How old are you?"

"Ninety three."

"Mrs. Jones, please come down in front and tell the congregation how a person can live to be ninety-three, and not have an enemy in the world."

The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle, very slowly turned around and said:

"It's easy, I just outlived all of those idiots."

From Gangster To Disciple

Nicky Cruz was only 3-1/2 years old when his heart turned to stone. As one of 18 children born to witchcraft-practicing parents from Puerto Rico, bloodshed and mayhem were common occurrences in his life. He suffered severe physical and mental abuse at their hands, at one time being declared the "Son of Satan" by his mother while she was in a spiritual trance.

When he was 15, Nicky's father sent him to visit an older brother in New York. Nicky didn't stay with his brother long. Instead, full of anger and rage, he chose to make it on his own.

Tough, but lonely, by age 16 he became a member of the notorious Brooklyn street gang known as the Mau Maus (named after a bloodthirsty African tribe). Within six months he became their president. Cruz fearlessly ruled the streets as warlord of one of the gangs most dreaded by rivals and police. Lost in the cycle of drugs, alcohol, and brutal violence, his life took a tragic turn for the worse after a friend and fellow gang member was horribly stabbed and beaten and died in Nicky's arms.

As Cruz' reputation grew, so did his haunting nightmares. Arrested countless times, a court-ordered psychiatrist pronounced Nicky's fate as "headed to prison, the electric chair, and hell."

No authority figure could reach Cruz - until he met a skinny street-preacher named David Wilkerson. He disarmed Nicky - showing him something he'd never known before: Relentless love. His interest in the young thug was persistent. Nicky beat him up, spit on him and, on one occasion, seriously threatened his life, yet the love of God remained - stronger than any adversary Nicky had ever encountered.

Finally, Wilkerson's presentation of the gospel message and the love of Jesus melted the thick walls of his heart. Nicky received the forgiveness, love and new life that can only come through Jesus. Since then, he has dedicated that life to helping others find the same freedom.

He reaches today's youth because they relate to his background, trust his peer authority, and respond to the message of hope he delivers with both passion and conviction. As one kid said after an outreach into his neighborhood, "All I knew was he was an O.G. (original gangster) and he was having this big meeting tonight."

"These kids are young, hardened criminals who don't respond to parents, teachers, or the jail system. They receive a glorified message of gang activity everyday in rap music, television, and films. They need to hear a different message - and they need to hear it now! They come to our 'invasions' looking for an alternative to the hopeless cycle of drug abuse, alcoholism, and violence. We must offer them an alternative source of security than the one they find in the gangs. They won't surrender to authority figures that have let them down all their lives. But, believe it or not, they will respond to a message about God if it comes from others who have survived their same living hell."

http://nickycruz.org/about/nicky_story/

General Norman Schwarzkopf's Forgiveness

In an recent interview, General Norman Schwarzkopf was asked if he thought there  was room for  forgiveness toward the people who have harbored and abetted the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks on America.

His answer was classic Schwarzkopf.

The General said, "I  believe that forgiving them is God's function .... OUR job is to arrange the meeting."


Woe to those who scheme iniquity, Who work out evil on their beds! (Micah 2:1)

Remember the Duck?

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target.

Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes."

But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper."

Sally just smiled and said, "Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done, the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.). Whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Carl The Quiet Man

Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.

Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in World War II. Watching him, we worried that although he had survived the war, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.

When he saw the flier at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up.

He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened. He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, "Would you like a drink from the hose?" The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure," with a malevolent little smile. As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.

Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him. Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn't get there fast enough to stop it. "Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?" the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet. Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head.

"Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise up someday." His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water.

Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you doing?"

"I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately," came the calm reply.

Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.

A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time they didn't rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water. When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done.

Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering. The summer was quickly fading into fall. Carl was doing some tilling when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him.

He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack.

"Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time." The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl.

"What's this?" Carl asked.

"It's your stuff," the man explained. "It's your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet."

"I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would you help me now?"

The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like you. We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it. But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate." He stopped for a moment "I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back." He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. "That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess." And with that, he walked off down the street.

Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.

He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral in spite of the weather. In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn't know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.

The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life. In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden."

The following spring another flier went up. It read: "Person needed to care for Carl's garden." The flier went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister's office door. Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flier. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the young man said.

The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl. He knew that Carl's kindness had turned this man's life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, "Yes, go take care of Carl's garden and honor him."

The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done. In that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl's memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.

One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, "My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on Saturday."

"Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby's name?"

"Carl," he replied.

That's the whole gospel message simply stated.

Writing in Sand or Stone

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument; and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”

They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”

The friend replied “when someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone.

Forgiveness And Kindness

A gentleman saw a boy thief in his flower garden. He went forth quietly in a roundabout way to meet the boy and, coming up behind him, laid his hand on the boy's shoulder, saying: "Now, my boy, answer me one question: Which is the best flower in my garden?" 

The boy, finding no escape, looked around and after a few minutes' pause, said, "That rose is best," as he pointed to a beautiful moss rose. 

The gentleman, still keeping one hand on the boy's shoulder, reached out his other hand and, plucking the rose in all its beauty, gave it to the boy. As he released him he said, "There, take it, my boy." The boy was amazed. 

Looking into the face of his strange benefactor, he said, "Ain't you going to have me punished, sir?" 

"No," was the reply; "but as I am going to give you the best flower in my garden, you will never steal from my flower beds again, will you?" 

"Never, sir, as long as I live," was the emphatic reply; "but, please, sir, ain't there some little errand I can do for you?"

Free forgiveness and a token of love had won the hardened boy's heart, and from that hour he was the willing servant of his friend. 

Christian Herald London

Forgiveness and Reconciliation

When a believer considers how much God has forgiven him, he is able to extend pardon to others no matter what they have done. 

A Christian husband found this to be true when his wife, who had become an alcoholic, told him of an affair she had had with his best friend ten years earlier. She said she experienced such feelings of guilt that the bottle was a means of escape. Anger and resentment began to sweep over him, for his wife’s drinking had embittered their children and nearly destroyed their home. He was also deeply hurt by the fact that his close friend had betrayed his trust. Then he remembered Jesus’ words, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." As he thought of God’s mercy toward him, he prayed for grace to do the Christlike thing. 

Here is his description of what happened the next time he met the man who had caused him such heartache: "With a sob in my soul, I reached out my hand and gripped his, and for the first time in my life I knew what it was to forgive. I

felt a tremendous sense of release as the unbearable weight of bitterness was lifted from my heart. This freedom enabled me to renew my love for my wife, and to overcome the barrier that had arisen between us. When I said to her, 'I forgive you and will accept you just as I did when I pledged to love and cherish you unto death,’ the healing process began its wonderful work."

Before Asking For Forgiveness

A Sunday School teacher had just concluded her lesson and wanted to make sure she had made her point. 

She said, "Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?" 

There was a short pause and then, from the back of the room, a small boy spoke up. "Sin," he said.