Forgiveness
Written by ED on May 5, 2008 – 9:17 pm - Posted in Christianity |A man who was about to fire his gun was shared with the gracious advice that he should be forgiving. He replied, “Forgiveness is between God and him. I am only arranging the meeting.” For a while, I was dumbstruck and wondered who came up with this line in the movie. It wasn’t because the line was cheesy but I feel it reflected a certain dilemma in my life when it comes to forgiveness.
For an hour after the show ended, I sat there quietly and thinking. My Bible was by my side, but I wasn’t reading it. Somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to flip through the pages. I wondered if I should accept this answer or reject it. The thing is we have always been taught to be forgiving. A lot of us spent years trying to forgive someone whom have made life miserable for us in one way or another. On that account, forgiveness is a gracious achievement.
On the other hand, it seemed to be telling me that the eventual forgiveness is in God’s hands and not ours. Funnily, I couldn’t answer myself on the thought; what if God does not forgive him should he be stubbornly unrepentant before our Holy Father? As thy children, will our forgiveness change his fate?
Yet, who are we to “arrange the meeting”? Maybe I should ask, upon who’s command and authority do we arrange the “meeting” between God and another person? To kill someone in the name of God, what difference does it make between us and religious extremists? Is our faith good enough a reason to end somebody else’s life?
But wait, this man has done so much evil and he is unrepentant. From robbery of old folks to child rape, and totally unrepentant. Perhaps, your attempt to stir him back onto the right path only endanger your own life. Would you actually sacrifice your life just by the attempt to enlighten him? Honestly, I don’t foresee the possibility. Neither will you, I think.
What if… what if… his life was meant to end in the killer’s hands? Would we know?
