Pastor's Corner

November, 2003

During an intermission of a large Christian concert, Steve Saint, the son of martyred missionary Nate Saint, went on stage to tell the story of his family’s grief, courage, and reconciliation with the murdering tribesmen. In fact, they were able to identify the very man who thrust a spear into his father and left him floating dead down the river. Steve went on to tell how his dad’s killer later acknowledged his violent crime, and eventually trusted Christ for his salvation. In the years that followed the tragic event, this Auca Indian has been instrumental in bringing many neighboring tribesmen to Christ. Then, in the most dramatic moment of the evening, he brought the man who killed his father up on the stage.

This is an amazing story, isn’t it? What made this amazing is how God used one man’s physical life (Nate Saint) to exchange for so many spiritual lives (the Indians)! I recalled Jesus said that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Of course, the context referred to His own death in order to save all those who believe, but the principle is equally true in this story. Nate died, but somehow, God saved the murderer, and through him, many were saved directly by Jesus’ blood and indirectly by Nate’s.

Another amazing part of this story is the fact that the Saint’s family was willing to forgive and reconcile with the murderer. In fact, they had gone so close that they were like family. No doubt, they had to go through times of grief and pain, but ultimately, they were able to see the goodness that came out from true forgiveness. Their forgiveness wasn’t a mere negative “let by-gone be by-gone” attitude, but rather, a positive reconciliation of accepting their father’s murderer into their family. I believe it was a great relief for everybody because either carrying hatred (the Saint’s family) or guilt (the murderer) isn’t going to help anyone to move forward.

In this world that is full of hatred, many people find it difficult to forgive, which is fully understandable. When you are wronged, the natural response is to find justice. When justice is not served, you’re troubled and frustrated. When guilty party is not punished, our emotion reaches to a “boiling point.” There is no easy way to forgive! If you have a difficult time to forgive, I would like to give you a suggestion. First, take time to grief and acknowledge your pain. Denial doesn’t help; it only delays potential explosion. Second, trust God and His promise. He promised, “The Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.” In most cases, if we know for certain that justice is served at the end, we’ll be able to let go. Most important of all, realize that an unforgiving spirit will only cause anger and hatred, which is unhealthy.

Before I sign off, I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We thank God for His provisions, rightfully so! But maybe we do something different this year. Thank Him for His forgiveness of sins. If you haven’t trusted Jesus as your Personal Savior to have your sins forgiven, I pray that you will.