Why Disciples Forgive

"The man I ate dinner with tonight killed my brother." The words, spoken by a stylish woman at a Prison Fellowship banquet in Seattle, amazed me. She told how John H. had murdered her brother during a robbery, served 18 years at Walla Walla, then settled into life on a dairy farm, where she had met him in 1983, 20 years after his crime. Compelled by Christ's command to forgive, Ruth Youngsman had gone to her enemy and pronounced forgiveness. Then she had taken him to her father's deathbed, prompting reconciliation.

Some wouldn't call this a success story: John didn't dedicate his life to Christ. But at that PF banquet last fall, his voice cracked as he said, "Christians are the only people I know that you can kill their son, and they'll make you a part of their family. I don't know the Man Upstairs, but He sure is hounding me."

John's story is unfinished; he hasn't yet accepted Christ. But just as Christ died for us regardless of our actions or acceptance, so Ruth forgave him without qualification. Even more so, she became his friend. (Albert H. Quie, President of Prison Fellowship Ministries, Jubilee, p. 5.)

Why do disciples of Jesus Christ forgive?  What does Jesus tell us about forgiveness?  How can I forgive someone who has deeply hurt me?  How are disciples of Christ able to forgive?

Join us this week as we study what God’s Word says about forgiveness.  We will primarily focus on Ephesians 4:32-5:2, but I would encourage us to read all of Ephesians before our time together on Sunday morning.  May the Spirit speak to each of us and may He prepare us to hear God’s Word and be transformed by the work of God in our lives.