Amazing Forgiveness

Well we finally made the trip to Hershey Pa, I talked about a while back. We had some vacation points that had to be used in an off-season and we had watched a movie called "Saving Sarah Cain" that made us want to come up and go to visit the Amish country, not far from here. As I was driving up I was listening to an audio CD that talked about Christianity and some of the different aspects of it. One was about forgiveness. An example that he used was of an incident that occured a few years ago at a little Amish school house. A man entered the school house with guns and ordered the teacher and the boys out of the school house. He boarded up the doors and bound the girls. From some of the stuff found later, it is clear he planned on molesting some of the girls before killing them. The police arrived not long after. From some accounts of those who survived the oldest girl offered her life for the others if he would let them go. Then the next youngest did the same. Some of my information is limited, so Google it to get a clearer picture. But at one point he shot all 10 girls at point blank range. Three died at the scene and two before the next morning in the hospital. How would you respond to the one who did this to your child?

A few days later after their children had been buried, they showed up at the funeral of the man who had killed and shot their children. They were there to support his widow and children. They even started a fund for his widow and children taken from the donations people had sent in to help them.

Why would they do this? It is the natural outpouring of true Christianity. Christians are forgiven much, and because of that, we can truly forgive. The Bible teaches us that we all have sinned. Sin is a willful choice to disobey God and it is rebellion from His love. It started in the garden of Eden. Their was only one restriction. Don't eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, yet Adam and Eve found themselves under it looking up and contemplating with Satan about it and came to the conclusion that God was not looking out for their best interest, He was being restrictive because He was a mean God. I find it interesting that they didn't even go to the tree they were encourage to eat a lot of, The Tree of Life. Ok, so I chased a rabbit, it's my blog, haha. But seriously, sin separates us from God and every person needs forgiveness, even if they don't think so. I read a statement one time by a person who ran a mental hospital. He said that about 75% of his patients could go home if they could just knew they were forgiven. When Jesus died on the cross he paid the death penalty that sin brings and provides the ultimate forgiveness if we would only accept it. Since He forgave us, we are to forgive others. The world does not teach us to do that. That is something we have to unlearn when we get saved. Unforgiveness is a poison that leads to bitterness and separation from God's fellowship and then it affects our relationships with others down here. Especially our families and our marriages. I have personally seen it's results in my own life. For me, I had to forgive one of the deepest hurts in my life, but my relationship with God was more important to me than what others might think about me. It is not that I would lose my salvation, but that I could not walk close to God while having hard feelings against those that my Jesus died for and that He loves the same as He does me, (Infinitely).

I saw where Lifetime will be playing a movie on this event tomorrow night called Amish Grace. I hope it portrays the event and forgiveness correctly. I have no faith in the stuff they put on TV anymore. Sorry. But it is about this event at the school house and forgiveness. I find it something that I can't ignore. Maybe it is God trying to tell me something or call my attention to this since I am reminded of this so much since being up here. Our family recently lost a niece to violence and the young man who did it got life without parole the other day. We all know we are to forgive. How do you get past something like that. One thing I find is that it is hard to hold a grudge against someone who has done something grievous to you. Our love for God and His relationship seems to transcend our pride. Did you know that when someone has done something wrong to you and you have hurt feelings toward that person, they have hurt your pride? Maybe more on that later. We are to see the other person as God sees us. How would that change the way we see others? Well these are just some things that have run through my mind lately. Remember, you are forgiven, Just accept that forgiveness.